Physics Questions

I am doing a project in physics on Cedar Point and i need to know the dimensions of the Midway Carousel, Monster, Chaos, and the Scrambler. I need to find the Diameter, Center of Mass, Rotational Inertia, Rotational KE, Angular Momentum, Torque, etc.

Can anyone help me.... "don't give me all the answers, give me the basics and i will do the rest."

For example: diameter of rides, revolutions/minute, etc.

Thank You

Do what everyone at physics day does. Grab a tape measure, head to the park with a buddy, and measure. It'll be a lot more accurate than everyone around here guessing, that's for sure.

The diameters of the carousels are published on the carousel history pages on the Cedar Point web site. Incidentally, my own measurements some years ago indicated that the Midway Carousel and Cedar Downs Racing Derby both operate at the same speed: 4.25 RPM.

For Chaos, try looking up the ride specs on the Chance Rides website. Interesting, the photo for the park model Chaos shows the Cedar Point ride, so soon after installation that while the fence is up, the temporary rails around the site have not been taken down yet.

Scrambler can be a bit tricky. Let me see...no, I don't have any measurements for that one, but I can tell you that the manufacturer says that the center can turn at 11.4 RPM, and the ride may not run backward.

As for Monster...I KNOW that one isn't on the Web...I don't have any size data, but I do have recommended operating speeds: Center is 8 RPM CCW, eccentric is 11 RPM CW, and the spiders run at 15 RPM CW. On that one, take a tape measure onto the ride. I believe you can see the top of the tub pin bearing when you are in the car...you need to measure the distance from there to your CG to do any meaningful calculations on the tub rotation.

--Dave Althof, Jr.

Thanks a lot RideMan, i think that's enough information.

I was looking at the Park Specs sheet for a 300' hypercoaster on the Chance Rides website, and they have the Steel Dragon 2000 as the Poster coaster. They also go on about all the records it broke. I find it funny cause SD2000 hasn't been in operation since 2000.

It's been SBNO since 2003.
http://www.rcdb.com/qs.htm?quicksearch=steel+dragon+2000