Question and Answer activity.
What is a roller-coaster?
Definition: a fairground attraction that consists of a light railway track which has many tight turns and steep slopes on which people ride in small, fast open carriages.
On a traditional roller coaster, gravity powers much of the trip. The potential energy for the entire ride is usually introduced in a large initial climb that is converted to kinetic energy on the first, and often sharpest drop.
Entertainment is provided by the velocity of the descent as well as by the inverted loops, barrel rolls, and banked turns that create positive gravitational forces, or g-forces, that press down upon the rider in the seat. The so-called negative g-forces create the rider’s sense of weightlessness when lifted from the seat over the peaks of hills.
On most roller coasters, riders remain seated beneath a safety bar, but variations include riders’ standing on a platform or hanging from a shoulder harness.
Where did they begin?
The oldest roller coasters are believed to have originated from the "Russian Mountains", which were specially constructed hills of ice located in the area that is now Saint Petersburg, Russia. Built in the 17th century, the slides were built to a height of between 21 and 24 m, had a 50-degree drop, and were reinforced by wooden supports. Both children and adults would make the trek upstairs about 70 feet (21 metres) high to an ice-block sled outfitted with a straw seat and would ride down in a way similar to sledding.
The activity was taken to Paris in 1804 in the form of a ride called the Russian Mountains (Les Montagnes Russes). Small wheels were added to the sleds on this ride. In 1817 the Belleville Mountains (Les Montagnes Russes de Belleville) and the Aerial Walks (Promenades Aériennes) in Paris improved on the original Russian Mountains by adding locking wheels, continuous tracks, and, eventually, cables that hoisted cars to the top of the hill.
In the early 19th century, the so-called Mauch Chunk Switchback Railway in Pennsylvania became the prototype for roller coasters in the United States. Its origins were in Gravity Road, which mining company entrepreneur Josiah White built in 1827 to haul coal from the mines on a 9-mile downhill journey. It also carried passengers, paying 50 cents per ride. The addition of a ratchet rail running between the dual two-rail tracks, prevented the cars from rolling backward. This safety device, later perfected, also gave rise to the clanking sound that would characterize future roller coasters.
By the end of the 19th century, American trolley companies were building amusement parks at the end of their lines to attract evening and weekend riders. The best-known trolley terminus was Coney Island in New York City, which popularized roller coaster culture in the United States.