Reflection
The clothiod loop is a teardrop-shaped loop that makes up the structure of a roller coaster loop the loop. It was created in this way because the circular loop that roller coasters originally had were very strenuous on the body. It gave the full forward force of the roller coaster onto the human body, when it started to loop, the body still wanted to go foreward. This made the experience much less enjoyable, as your head would be pulled down as soon as the roller coaster started to move up. The clothoid loop fixed this problem with its teardrop shape because it puts less strain on the body. It immediately makes the ramp up higher before you start to go around so that you are not being pulled foreward as much because you start to lean back. This is also because of the normal force acting upon you earlier upwards from the track as to better counter the force of gravity. This made roller coaster loops as they are today more enjoyable and much more popular for all. These roller coasters also introduced the changing of the radius. As a result of the roller coaster not being a circle, the radius changed as you went around the coaster. When the radius changes it also changes the amount of the centripital force. This makes you feel more weightlessness as you go around as well as the less strain on your body from before.
Citations
– YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Kzl2suBE2w. Accessed 8 Apr. 2025.
Amusement Park Physics. https://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/circles/Lesson-2/Amusement-Park-Physics. Accessed 8 Apr. 2025.