Lightning Strike?
I found this on another site and wondered if it was true:
"Millennium Force- Mag breaks were hit by lightning, reversing thier polarity and not slowing the train at all, collosion occured."
Anyone have any information?
Well the post was made on April 1st, but it also mentioned other accidents. It also goes on to mention this in another post:
"It was a freak storm, and I believe there were riders on board when it happened."
First of all, Millennium Force isn't running right now. Secondly, lighting would hit the OBT or the first hill before it would go near the brakes. Next, it is very difficult to change mangitizem in permant magnets using electricty. Last but not least, If the Magentizm was reversed, the brakes would work just as well as they do now. The way the work is the movement of the diamagnetic material [copper] cutting through magnetic flux which induces electricity into the fins. The reaction in the fins oppose the the induced voltage and the magnetic field. The result is the train slows down and a large amount of heat is induced into the fins but is quickly dissipated due to the large surface area.
-Marc
I think the post was referring to a time when Millennium Force was actually running, but thanks for the info.
This was never true. It never happened. If lightning hit the ride, it would hit it on the lift and just follow the grounding wires into the ground. If it acctually hit one of the brakes at the end of the ride, there are still the other brakes to stop the train. But it never happend so it doesn't matter!
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Screamsters 2001
Millennium Force/Screamsters 2002
Rip Cord/Screamsters 2003
*** This post was edited by 99er 4/5/2003 4:23:11 PM ***
"breaks" - when employees go to relax
"brakes" - what stops a rollercoaster
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MANTIS ROCKS 2002 & 2003
Closed topic.