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The wall of death (variously named) is a fairground ride
in
which revellers stand inside a large drum. The drum
spins, and centripugal forces press the riders agains the
wall so firmly that, when the floor of the drum is moved
away, they remain held in place.
It will be apparent that the
success of this effect depends
quite crucially on the coefficient of friction between the
rider and the wall, to prevent any vertical sliding of the
rider down the wall (assuming for simplicity that the
drum
continues to rotate in the horizontal plane).
The centripugal force is determined by the speed of
rotation
of the drum and by its diameter, but cannot exceed a
few
G without injuring the riders. Fortunately, the
coefficient
of friction between the rider's clothing and the drum
wall
is high enough that a few G of centripugal force is
enough
to stop the rider sliding down the wall (under the
unchanging 1G of downward-pointing gravity).
However, there are now materials available with very
low
coefficients of friction (against most other materials).
Were such a material available in the form of an aerosol
spray, and were such an aerosol spray to fall into the
hands
of a malicious person, and were such a person to visit
one
of these walls of death, the results would be very
newsworthy.
Inside a Gravitron
http://www.dweebist.../2011/02/gravitron/
Like a boss. [baconbrain, Mar 11 2012]
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Well, the people in the ride would slide down to the bottom that had been pulled down, and, near the end of the ride, when the bottom is lifted again, the people will be pushed back up to where they started. What's the problem? |
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That's not a real wall of death. A wall of death is a cylindrical motorcycle track, with the spectators looking in over the top rim. However, the same low-friction aerosol spray could be used to equally humourous effect. |
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//What's the problem?// The problem happens if
the wall falls away by more than half a person-
height. In that case, they will have severe radial
problems. |
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//That's not a real wall of death.// Hence my use
of "variously named". In some places the
fairground ride is called a wall of death; it also
goes by many other names. |
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The names may be various, but the deaths are not real. |
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That's the problem being addressed. |
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Next up: centipedal force |
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Death cometh swift, borne on countless tiny feet... |
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Sounds like The Luggage ... are they by any chance little pink feet ... ? |
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This I don't get. We have here a vaguely workable
and malicious scheme, guaranteed to cause hilarity
and carnage, and yet... |
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The rides in question work by having seats that slide up
(not a floor that moves down) because the walls are tilted
outwards. You would have to slide "uphill" to fall below the
seat. However, if the seat was very slippery you could
slide off the top of it, which would actually be worse. |
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//but cannot exceed a few G without injuring the
riders.//. of course it could! Lying down, people can take
20+g easily, albeit without breathing. In fact, if the ride
was any fun it would go to at least 6g. |
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//The rides in question work by having seats that
slide up (not a floor that moves down)// Not the
one I've been on... |
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//Lying down, people can take 20+g easily, albeit
without breathing. In fact, if the ride was any fun it
would go to at least 6g.// So, what's the force
provided by actual fairground versions? |
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"...the riders are experiencing centrifugal force equivalent to three times the force of gravity." Wikipedia, Gravitron article. The gravitron has the sliding seats (or rather, flat back rests). |
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You had some croissants but they slipped off. |
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According to Wikipedia, the damned things are now called Starship 4000. Earlier versions had lower numbers, even earlier the name was Gravitron. The ride was derived from the Rotor, which had vertical walls and a drop-away floor. |
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When I rode a Rotor, back in the days of polyester pants, a few people on each ride simply slid down the vertical walls to the floor when it dropped. As I recall, when the ride slowed down to stop, people slid down the wall at various times. |
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//Lying down, people can take 20+g easily, albeit without breathing//
Er, so clearly they can't take it for very long... |
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They can withstand it for the rest of their lives. |
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A ringing safety endorsement! |
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//Lying down, people can take 20+g easily, albeit without
breathing// |
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Cite, please? I ask out of interest, not criticism. |
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//Lying down, people can take 20+g easily, albeit without breathing// |
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I'd say that if they weren't interested in breathing anymore, people lying down could handle almost any g-load, up to the point of liquefication. |
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//up to the point of liquefication// |
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Up to the point where their guts turn into..., well, custard. |
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