Roller Coasters

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Roller Coasters

Most everyone can remember the first time they rode a roller coaster, and how it felt. People either love to ride roller coasters or do not, but very few are indifferent to the bone-rattling structures that have become a popular pastime worldwide, ever since the first one—"Flying Mountains," developed in Russia in the fifteenth century—introduced the combination of fear and amusement. The engineering technology of roller coasters defies nature by allowing human beings to be catapulted at varying speeds every which way. There were approximately 475 operating roller coasters in North America as of 1998, all competing in speed, architecture, and inventiveness. The progress of engineering has enabled coasters to travel backward or around inverted loops at alarming speeds (most average in the mid-60-miles-per-hour range), while riders can sometimes stand, be in the dark, or sit in chairlift-style trains with tracks that run along the top, while strapped tightly into their seats. Whether they are steel or wooden, the names bestowed upon roller coasters are always given careful thought, their purpose being to evoke a really good and scary ride (Colossus, Fireball, Cyclone, and the Superman are some examples). As of 1999, there were 13 roller coaster clubs and organizations formed by people who share a similar enthusiasm and spend much of their leisure time engaging in lengthy critiques of coasters all over the world. There are even front-and backseat enthusiasts who argue over which seat will elicit the most surprises and offer the best ride.

The physics are relatively simple: roller coasters are powered by gravity (and operated by computers). As the train is pulled up the hill, "potential energy" is built up and then converted into "kinetic energy" once it begins its descent. Positive gravitational forces ("g-forces") press riders into their seats at the bottom of a dip, whereas "negative g's" create a temporary sense of weightlessness that is pleasurable for some and nauseating for others. During the ride, people experience a communal thrill of traveling at extreme speeds and heights while being in the open air.

Part of the fun of roller coasters is that they are scary, and there is a perverse delight people feel in being afraid, especially when they are (relatively) sure that nothing can go wrong. Some roller coasters have speed to offer (the best usually surpass 70 miles per hour), or the height of dips (225 feet, for example), or the frequency of the dips during a ride (a coaster in Texas boasts 20 additional drops, after the first one, which descends 137 feet). Most trains travel slowly up the track at the ride's beginning to allow the coaster to gain speed during its first plunge that will sustain it for the duration of the ride, but also to build up the anticipation of riders as to what lies ahead (most likely the highest of many drops, loops, or speed). But some blast off instantly, gaining awesome speed in a short amount of time (one popular roller coaster accelerates from 0 to 100 in just 7 seconds). Sometimes the real adventure, though, lies in a roller coaster's stature or age. A creaky, old wooden coaster, without fancy safety mechanisms, can hint at an impending derailment, as well as offer a truly jostling, loud ride.

The famous, rickety Cyclone in Coney Island, New York, helped to popularize the roller coaster in the United States at the beginning of the twentieth century. Coaster mythology has it that a mute man once rode it and spoke his very first words after riding it: "I feel sick." Even in the 1990s, the coaster still continues to frighten riders who can never be sure if and when it will fall apart. In 1927, a nurse was stationed next to the Cyclone in Crystal Beach, Ontario, just as a precaution, because of its 90-foot drop and hairpin turns. The Zippin Pippin in Libertyland, Memphis, was singer Elvis Presley's favorite amusement park ride. Apparently, the King once rode it nonstop for hours when he rented out the park one night in 1977, just eight days before he died.

There is always an element of uncertainty in riding these man-made machines, and roller coasters have had their share of widely publicized mishaps. Oftentimes the computers that run them fail. Cars have smashed into each other, safety lap bars have suddenly popped open during a ride, and trains have become uncoupled while climbing hills. In turn, riders have been thrown out of trains and suffered other injuries that—combined with the speed, twists, and turns of roller coasters—can be very serious, if not fatal. An extensive study by the Associated Press found that the roller coaster industry was one in which blunders and bad judgment can abound. There is constant competition for companies to design faster, bigger, and more awesome rides, in which riders often serve as guinea pigs, testing the rides' safety when they first open. "It's hard sometimes on paper to anticipate those forces," said Robert Johnson, executive director of the Outdoor Amusement Business Association, a carnival trade group. "People aren't built the same. Some people can withstand forces differently than others. Any major new ride, it's a trial ride. A prototype. The first year is a trial year." There is a certain degree of misbehaving that goes on in parks with patrons (holding up their hands during a ride, for example), and that coupled with the fact that the industry is one of the least regulated and monitored in the country (there are no federal guidelines for the degree of gravitational forces that people can be subjected to), can produce more risks. But the knowledge that an occasional, injurious accident can occur does not stop enthusiasts from waiting in long lines to ride roller coasters.

—Sharon Yablon