MF Braking and Lift
After reading "MF Anatomy" I guess I didn't really understand how the magnetic braking works. If the braking is provided my magnetic force, how does the train not slam to a hault when it reaches the brake runs? Probably a stupid question, but I thought I'd ask. Also, i don't really understand the purpose of the whole Elevator lift system. Why change? Is the traditional train driven lift just obselete now? I've heard it's because of the height and the elevator will get it up faster, but to me it seems as though you could just speed up the motor of the chain lift and you would ascend faster. Again, probably stupid, but I'm curious :)
There are no brake runs on the course except for the end of the ride, that is why only 1 train is on the course at a time. The magnetic brakes are similar in the way they work with hydraulic brakes, in hydraulics pressure is applied with liquid, in magnetic brakes the pressure is applied with varying power of the magnets, higher power equals more braking.
As for the lift, remember when magnum opened all of the problems they had with the chain, hell, it even broke once or twice. A cable can tow it up faster and easier than a chain with a lot less maintenance. Hopefully at least...
As for the lift, remember when magnum opened all of the problems they had with the chain, hell, it even broke once or twice. A cable can tow it up faster and easier than a chain with a lot less maintenance. Hopefully at least...
Actually, the brakes don't have anything to do with pressure. There is no friction involved at all. The train doesn't touch the brakes. The fins on the side of the trains slide between the magnetic "sandwiches" but do not touch them. If you look at the photo labeled "brake assemblies" in the anatomy feature (click on it to blow it up) you'll see the sandwiches with the yellow tape on them. When it releases the train, the sandwiches angle away from the train, so they no longer contain the fins. They provide a very smooth stop.
As far as the lift goes, I think it's a matter of sheer weight. A chain that long is going to be insanely heavy. Think about ten feet of that heavy chain and compare it to ten feet of cable. I think I know which one you wouldn't want to pick up! As a side note, I suspect you will go up faster.
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Jeff
Webmaster/Guide to The Point
As far as the lift goes, I think it's a matter of sheer weight. A chain that long is going to be insanely heavy. Think about ten feet of that heavy chain and compare it to ten feet of cable. I think I know which one you wouldn't want to pick up! As a side note, I suspect you will go up faster.
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Jeff
Webmaster/Guide to The Point
yeah, look how long it takes to get up Magnum's lift..now add another 105 feet....serious drop in riders per hour.
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"I think I scrambled my brain!!"
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"I think I scrambled my brain!!"
At No Coaster Con, Robbin Innes (at least I think it was him) said the cable lift would travel approximately eleven miles per hour. I'm pretty sure that's faster than any typical chain lift.
Yeah, I think that normal lifts go about five. Don't kill me if I'm wrong, though.
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Thank you for riding Raptor and enjoy your day here at Cedar Point, America's RollerCoast!
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Thank you for riding Raptor and enjoy your day here at Cedar Point, America's RollerCoast!
Regarding the action of the magnetic braking system....
The magnets are permanent magnets, therefore there is no variation in the strength of the magnetic field. There is, however, a variation in the strength of the force (meaning the braking force) generated by this field as the force is generated by the electric current which is generated in the brake fin as the fin passes through the magnetic field.
One of the experiments you should do in a Physics or general Science class involves a bar magnet and a coil of wire. What you learn from that experiment is that when you pass a conductor through a magnetic field, a current is induced in the conductor. In inducing that current, the moving conductor is subjected to a reaction force, and this reaction force is what Intamin exploits with the magnetic brakes. In general, the faster the conductor (the brake fin) moves through the magnetic field (the brake), the larger the induced current will be, and therefore the larger the reaction force will be. The upshot of all this is that the braking force of the magnetic brake is directly proportional to the vehicle speed! The faster the train is moving, the harder the brakes will hit, so the same length of brake will stop the train regardless of the train's speed.
Neat, huh? :)
--Dave Althoff, Jr.
The magnets are permanent magnets, therefore there is no variation in the strength of the magnetic field. There is, however, a variation in the strength of the force (meaning the braking force) generated by this field as the force is generated by the electric current which is generated in the brake fin as the fin passes through the magnetic field.
One of the experiments you should do in a Physics or general Science class involves a bar magnet and a coil of wire. What you learn from that experiment is that when you pass a conductor through a magnetic field, a current is induced in the conductor. In inducing that current, the moving conductor is subjected to a reaction force, and this reaction force is what Intamin exploits with the magnetic brakes. In general, the faster the conductor (the brake fin) moves through the magnetic field (the brake), the larger the induced current will be, and therefore the larger the reaction force will be. The upshot of all this is that the braking force of the magnetic brake is directly proportional to the vehicle speed! The faster the train is moving, the harder the brakes will hit, so the same length of brake will stop the train regardless of the train's speed.
Neat, huh? :)
--Dave Althoff, Jr.
Dave, that was almost word for word what Iain Hendry said on Coastered '99! Scary! :)
Joe, who knows Dave already knew that stuff and didn't copy Iain :)
Joe, who knows Dave already knew that stuff and didn't copy Iain :)
(since Chris asked...) I am the Media Services guy for Capital University. See a little bit of that at http://capital2.capital.edu/admin-staff/dalthoff . I'm also a student of amusement rides, and certified by NAARSO (http://www.naarso.com) as a ride inspector, though I don't do that professionally at the moment.
Iain's description of Superman:Ride of Steel's brakes, given on "Coastered '99" is a fairly good one, though he has a tendency to use less understandable jargon at times. My first demonstration of the effect, though, came about fifteen years ago in a high-school general science class. The demonstration was a hand-cranked generator hooked up to a light bulb through a switch. Nothing was made of it at the time, but I happened to notice that it was a lot easier to crank the generator when the light was turned off; turning on the light made it harder to turn the generator. This is precisely the effect that Intamin is exploiting, though their setup is a little more elegant.
--Dave Althoff, Jr.
Iain's description of Superman:Ride of Steel's brakes, given on "Coastered '99" is a fairly good one, though he has a tendency to use less understandable jargon at times. My first demonstration of the effect, though, came about fifteen years ago in a high-school general science class. The demonstration was a hand-cranked generator hooked up to a light bulb through a switch. Nothing was made of it at the time, but I happened to notice that it was a lot easier to crank the generator when the light was turned off; turning on the light made it harder to turn the generator. This is precisely the effect that Intamin is exploiting, though their setup is a little more elegant.
--Dave Althoff, Jr.
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