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CircularMotionandSatelliteMotionLesson2ApplicationsofCircularMotion

RollerCoastersandAmusementParkPhysics
Newton'sSecondLawRevisited
AmusementParkPhysics
Athletics

Peoplearewildaboutamusementparks.Eachday,weflockbythemillionstothenearestpark,paying
asizablehunkofmoneytowaitinlonglinesforashort60secondrideonourfavoriterollercoaster.
Thethoughtpromptsonetoconsiderwhatisitaboutarollercoasterridethatprovidessuchwidespread
excitementamongsomanyofusandsuchdreadfulfearintherest?Isourexcitementaboutcoasters
duetotheirhighspeeds?Absolutelynot!Infact,itwouldbefoolishtospendsomuchtimeandmoney
torideaselectionofrollercoastersifitwereforreasonsofspeed.Itismorethanlikelythatmostofus
sustainhigherspeedsonourridealongtheinterstatehighwayonthewaytotheamusementparkthan
wedoonceweenterthepark.Thethrillofrollercoastersisnotduetotheirspeed,butratherdueto
theiraccelerationsandtothefeelingsofweightlessnessandweightinessthattheyproduce.Roller
coastersthrillusbecauseoftheirabilitytoaccelerateusdownwardonemomentandupwardsthenext
leftwardsonemomentandrightwardsthenext.Rollercoastersareaboutaccelerationthat'swhat
makesthemthrilling.AndinthispartofLesson2,wewillfocusonthecentripetalacceleration
experiencedbyriderswithinthecircularshapedsectionsofarollercoastertrack.Thesesectionsinclude
theclothoidloops(thatwewillapproximateasacircle),thesharp180degreebankedturns,and
thesmalldipsandhillsfoundalongotherwisestraightsectionsofthetrack.

ThePhysicsofRollerCoasterLoops
Themostobvioussectiononarollercoasterwherecentripetalaccelerationoccursiswithintheso
calledclothoidloops.Rollercoasterloopsassumeateardroppedshapethatisgeometricallyreferred
toasaclothoid.Aclothoidisasectionofaspiralinwhichtheradiusisconstantlychanging.Unlikea
circularloopinwhichtheradiusisaconstantvalue,theradiusatthebottomofaclothoidloopismuch
largerthantheradiusatthetopoftheclothoidloop.Amereinspectionofaclothoidrevealsthatthe
amountofcurvatureatthebottomoftheloopislessthantheamountofcurvatureatthetopofthe
loop.Tosimplifyouranalysisofthephysicsofclothoidloops,wewill
approximateaclothoidloopasbeingaseriesofoverlappingor
adjoiningcircularsections.Theradiusofthesecircularsectionsis
decreasingasoneapproachesthetopoftheloop.Furthermore,we
willlimitouranalysistotwopointsontheclothoidloopthetopof
theloopandthebottomoftheloop.Forthisreason,ouranalysiswill
focusonthetwocirclesthatcanbematchedtothecurvatureof
thesetwosectionsoftheclothoid.Thediagramattherightshowsa
clothoidloopwithtwocirclesofdifferentradiusinscribedintothetop
andthebottomoftheloop.Notethattheradiusatthebottomofthe
loopissignificantlylargerthantheradiusatthetopoftheloop.
Asarollercoasterridertravelsthroughaclothoidloop,sheexperiencesanaccelerationduetobotha
changeinspeedandachangeindirection.Arightwardmovingridergraduallybecomesanupward
movingrider,thenaleftwardmovingrider,thenadownwardmovingrider,beforefinallybecominga
rightwardmovingrideronceagain.Thereisacontinuouschangeinthedirectionoftheriderasshe
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movesthroughtheclothoidloop.AndaslearnedinLesson1,achangeindirectionisonecharacteristic
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ofanacceleratingobject.Inadditiontochangingdirections,therideralsochangesspeed.Astherider
beginstoascend(climbupward)theloop,shebeginstoslowdown.Asenergyprincipleswouldsuggest,
anincreaseinheight(andinturnanincreaseinpotentialenergy)resultsinadecreaseinkineticenergy
andspeed.Andconversely,adecreaseinheight(andinturnadecreaseinpotentialenergy)resultsin
anincreaseinkineticenergyandspeed.Sotheriderexperiencesthegreatestspeedsatthebottomof
theloopbothuponenteringandleavingtheloopandthelowestspeedsatthetopoftheloop.

Thischangeinspeedastheridermovesthroughtheloopisthesecondaspectoftheaccelerationthata
riderexperiences.Foraridermovingthroughacircularloopwithaconstantspeed,theaccelerationcan
bedescribedasbeingcentripetalortowardsthecenterofthecircle.Inthecaseofaridermoving
throughanoncircularloopatnonconstantspeed,theaccelerationoftheriderhastwocomponents.
Thereisacomponentthatisdirectedtowardsthecenterofthecircle(ac)andattributesitselftothe
directionchangeandthereisacomponentthatisdirectedtangent(at)tothetrack(eitherinthe
oppositeorinthesamedirectionasthecar'sdirectionofmotion)andattributesitselftothecar's
changeinspeed.Thistangentialcomponentwouldbedirectedoppositethedirectionofthecar'smotion
asitsspeeddecreases(ontheascenttowardsthetop)andinthesamedirectionasthecar'smotionas
itsspeedincreases(onthedescentfromthetop).Attheverytopandtheverybottomoftheloop,the
accelerationisprimarilydirectedtowardsthecenterofthecircle.Atthetop,thiswouldbeinthe
downwarddirectionandatthebottomoftheloopitwouldbeintheupwarddirection.

ForceAnalysisofaCoasterLoop
WelearnedinLesson1thattheinwardsaccelerationofanobjectiscausedbyaninwardsnetforce.
Circularmotion(ormerelymotionalongacurvedpath)requiresaninwardscomponentofnetforce.If
alltheforcesthatactupontheobjectwereaddedtogetherasvectors,thenthenetforcewouldbe
directedinwards.Neglectingfrictionandairresistance,arollercoastercarwillexperiencetwoforces:
theforceofgravity(Fgrav)andthenormalforce(Fnorm).Thenormalforceisdirectedinadirection
perpendiculartothetrackandthegravitationalforceisalways
directeddownwards.Wewillconcernourselveswiththerelative
magnitudeanddirectionofthesetwoforcesforthetopandthe
bottomoftheloop.Atthebottomoftheloop,thetrackpushes
upwardsuponthecarwithanormalforce.However,atthetopofthe
loopthenormalforceisdirecteddownwardssincethetrack(the
supplierofthenormalforce)isabovethecar,itpushesdownwards
uponthecar.Thefreebodydiagramsforthesetwopositionsare
showninthediagramsattheright.
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Themagnitudeoftheforceofgravityactinguponthepassenger(orcar)caneasilybefoundusingthe
equationFgrav=mgwhereg=accelerationofgravity(9.8m/s2).Themagnitudeofthenormalforce
dependsontwofactorsthespeedofthecar,theradiusoftheloopandthemassoftherider.As
depictedinthefreebodydiagram,themagnitudeofFnormisalwaysgreateratthebottomoftheloop
thanitisatthetop.Thenormalforcemustalwaysbeoftheappropriatesizetocombinewiththe
Fgravinsuchawaytoproducetherequiredinwardorcentripetalnetforce.Atthebottomoftheloop,
theFgravpointsoutwardsawayfromthecenteroftheloop.Thenormalforcemustbesufficientlylarge
toovercomethisFgravandsupplysomeexcessforcetoresultinanetinwardforce.Inasense,Fgravand
FnormareinatugofwarandFnormmustwinbyanamountequaltothenetforce.Atthetopofthe
loop,bothFgravandFnormaredirectedinwards.TheFgravisfoundintheusualway(usingtheequation
Fgrav=mg).OncemoretheFnormmustprovidesufficientforcetoproducetherequiredinwardor
centripetalnetforce.

EarlierinLesson2,theuseofNewton'ssecondlawandfreebodydiagramstosolvecircularmotion
diagramswasillustrated.Itwasemphasizedatthattimethatanygivenphysicalsituationcouldbe
analyzedintermsoftheindividualforcesthatareactinguponanobject.Theseindividualforcesmust
addupasvectorstothenetforce.Furthermore,thenetforcemustbeequaltothemasstimesthe
acceleration.Theprocessofconductingaforceanalysisofaphysicalsituationwasfirstintroduced
inUnit2ofThePhysicsClassroom.Nowwewillinvestigatetheuseofthesefundamentalprinciplesin
theanalysisofsituationsinvolvingthemotionofobjectsincircles.Wewillutilizethebasicproblem
solvingapproachthatwasintroducedearlierinLesson2.Thisapproachcanbesummarizedasfollows.
SuggestedMethodofSolvingCircularMotionProblems
1.Fromtheverbaldescriptionofthephysicalsituation,constructafreebodydiagram.
Representeachforcebyavectorarrowandlabeltheforcesaccordingtotype.
2.Identifythegivenandtheunknowninformation(expressintermsofvariablessuch
asm=,a=,v=,etc.).
3.Ifanyoftheindividualforcesaredirectedatanglestothehorizontalandvertical,then
usevectorprinciplestoresolvesuchforcesintohorizontalandverticalcomponents.
4.Determinethemagnitudeofanyknownforcesandlabelonthefreebodydiagram.
(Forexample,ifthemassisgiven,thentheFgravcanbedetermined.Andasanother
example,ifthereisnoverticalacceleration,thenitisknownthattheverticalforcesor
forcecomponentsbalance,allowingforthepossibledeterminationofoneormoreofthe
individualforcesintheverticaldirection.)
5.Usecircularmotionequationstodetermineanyunknowninformation.
(Forexample,ifthespeedandtheradiusareknown,thentheaccelerationcanbe
determined.Andasanotherexample,iftheperiodandradiusareknown,thenthe
accelerationcanbedetermined.)
6.Usetheremaininginformationtosolvefortherequestedinformation.
a.Iftheproblemrequeststhevalueofanindividualforce,thenusethekinematic
information(R,Tandv)todeterminetheaccelerationandtheFnetthenusethefree
bodydiagramtosolvefortheindividualforcevalue.
b.Iftheproblemrequeststhevalueofthespeedorradius,thenusethevaluesofthe
individualforcestodeterminethenetforceandaccelerationthenusetheacceleration
todeterminethevalueofthespeedorradius.

Combineaforceanalysiswiththeabovemethodtosolvethefollowingrollercoasterproblem.
SampleRollerCoasterProblem
AnnaLiticalisridingonTheDemonatGreatAmerica.Annaexperiencesadownward
accelerationof15.6m/s2atthetopoftheloopandanupwardaccelerationof26.3m/s2at
thebottomoftheloop.UseNewton'ssecondlawtodeterminethenormalforceactingupon
Anna's864kgrollercoastercar.
Steps1and2involvetheconstructionofafreebodydiagramandtheidentificationofknownand
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unknownquantities.Thisisshowninbelow.
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GivenInfo:
m=864kg
atop=15.6m/s2,down
bottom=26.3m/s2,up
Find:
Fnormattopandbottom

Step3ofthesuggestedmethodwouldnotapplytothisproblemsincetherearenoforcesdirected"at
angles"(thatis,alltheforcesareeitherhorizontallyorverticallydirected).Step4ofthesuggested
methodinvolvesthedeterminationofanyknownforces.Inthiscase,theforceofgravitycanbe
determinedfromtheequationFgrav=mg.Usingagvalueof9.8m/s2,theforceofgravityacting
uponthe864kgcarisapproximately8467N.Step5ofthesuggestedmethodwouldbeusedifthe
accelerationwerenotgiven.Inthisinstance,theaccelerationisknown.Iftheaccelerationwerenot
known,thenitwouldhavetobecalculatedfromspeedandradiusinformation.
Step6ofthesuggestedmethodinvolvesthedeterminationofanindividualforcethenormalforce.
Thiswillinvolveatwostepprocess:firstthenetforce(magnitudeanddirection)mustbedetermined
thenthenetforcemustbeusedwiththefreebodydiagramtodeterminethenormalforce.Thistwo
stepprocessisshownbelowforthetopandthebottomoftheloop.
BottomofLoop TopofLoop
Fnet=m*a Fnet=m*a
Fnet=(864kg)*(26.3m/s2,up) Fnet=(864kg)*(15.6m/s2,down)
Fnet=22723N,up Fnet=13478N,down
FromFBD: FromFBD:

FnormmustbegreaterthantheFgravby FnormandFgravtogethermustcombine
22723Ninordertosupplyanet together(i.e.,addup)tosupplytherequired
upwardsforceof22723N.Thus, inwardsnetforceof13478N.Thus,

Fnorm=Fgrav+Fnet Fnorm=FnetFgrav

Fnorm=31190N Fnorm=5011N

SensationsofWeightlessness
Observethatthenormalforceisgreateratthebottomoftheloopthanitisatthetopoftheloop.This
becomesareasonablefactwhencircularmotionprinciplesareconsidered.Atallpointsalongtheloop
whichwewillrefertoascircularinshapetheremustbesomeinwardcomponentofnetforce.When
atthetopoftheloop,thegravitationalforceisdirectedinwards(down)andsothereislessofaneed
foranormalforceinordertomeetthenetcentripetalforcerequirement.Whenatthebottomofthe
loop,thegravitationalforceisdirectedoutwards(down)andsonowthereisaneedforalargeupwards
normalforceinordertomeetthecentripetalforcerequirement.Thisprincipleisoftendemonstratedina
physicsclassusingabucketofwatertiedtoastring.Thewaterisspuninaverticalcircle.Asthewater
tracesoutitscircularpath,thetensioninthestringiscontinuouslychanging.Thetensionforceinthis
demonstrationisanalogoustothenormalforceforarollercoasterrider.Atthetopoftheverticalcircle,
thetensionforceisverysmallandatthebottomoftheverticalcircle,thetensionforceisverylarge.
(Youmighttrythisactivityyourselfoutsidewithasmallplasticbuckethalffilledwithwater.Giveextra
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cautiontostayclearofallpeople,windows,treesandoverheadpowerlines.Repeatenoughcyclesto
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observethenoticeabledifferenceintensionforcewhenthebucketisatthetopandthebottomofthe
circle.)
Ifyouhaveeverbeenonarollercoasterrideandtraveledthroughaloop,thenyouhavelikely
experiencedthissmallnormalforceatthetopoftheloopandthelargenormal
forceatthebottomoftheloop.Thenormalforceprovidesa foraperson's feel
weight.(AswillbediscussedlaterinLesson4,wecanneverfeelourweightwe
canonlyfeelotherforcesthatactasaresultofcontactwithotherobjects.)The
moreyouweigh,themorenormalforcethatyouwillexperiencewhenatrestin
yourseat.Butifyouboardarollercoasterrideandacceleratethroughcircles
(orclothoidloops),thenyouwillfeelanormalforcethatisconstantlychanginganddifferentfromthat
whichyouareaccustomedto.Thisnormalforceprovidesasensationorfeelingofweightlessnessor
weightiness.Whenatthetopoftheloop,ariderwillfeelpartiallyweightlessifthenormalforces
becomelessthantheperson'sweight.Andatthebottomoftheloop,ariderwillfeelvery"weighty"due
totheincreasednormalforces.Itisimportanttorealizethattheforceofgravityandtheweightofyour
bodyarenotchanging.Onlythemagnitudeofthesupportingnormalforceischanging!(The
phenomenonofweightlessnesswillbediscussedinmuchmoredetaillaterinLesson4.)
Thereissomeinterestinghistory(andphysics)behindthegradualusageofclothoidloopsinroller
coasterrides.Intheearlydaysofrollercoasterloops,circularloopswereused.Therewereavarietyof
problems,someofwhichresultedinfatalities,astheresultoftheuseofthesecircularloops.Coaster
carsenteringcircularloopsathighspeedsencounteredexcessivenormalforcesthatwerecapableof
causingwhiplashandbrokenbones.Effortstocorrecttheproblembyloweringentryspeedsresultedin
theinabilityofcarstomakeitaroundtheentireloopwithoutfallingoutoftheloopwhenreachingthe
top.Thedecreaseinspeedsasthecarsascendedthelargecircularloopresultedincoastercarsturning
intoprojectilecars(asituationknowntobenotgoodforbusiness).Thesolutiontotheprobleminvolved
usinglowentryspeedsandaloopwithasharpercurvatureatthetopthanatthebottom.Sinceclothoid
loopshaveacontinuallychangingradius,theradiusislargeatthebottomoftheloopandshortenedat
thetopoftheloop.Theresultisthatcoastercarscanentertheloopsathighspeedsyetduetothe
largeradius,thenormalforcesdonotexceed 3.5G's
.Atthetopoftheloop,theradiusissmallthus
allowingalowerspeedcartostillmaintaincontactwiththetrackandsuccessfullymakeitthroughthe
loop.Theclothoidloopisatestimonytoanengineer'sapplicationofthecentripetalacceleration
equationa=v2/R.Nowthat'sphysicsforbetterliving!

PhysicsofCoasterDipsandHills
Theabovediscussionandforceanalysisappliestothecircularlikemotionofarollercoastercarina
clothoidloop.Thesecondsectionalongarollercoastertrackwherecircularmotionisexperiencedis
alongthesmalldipsandhills.Thesesectionsoftrackareoftenfoundneartheendofarollercoaster
rideandinvolveaseriesofsmallhillsfollowedbyasharpdrop.Ridersoftenfeelheavyastheyascend
thehill(alongregionsAandEinthediagrambelow).Thennearthecrestofthehill(regionsBandF),
theirupwardmotionmakesthemfeelasthoughtheywillflyoutofthecaroftentimes,itisonlythe
safetybeltthatpreventssuchamishap.Asthecarbeginstodescendthesharpdrop,ridersare
momentarilyinastateoffreefall(alongregionsCandGinthediagrambelow).Andfinallyasthey
reachthebottomofthesharpdip(regionsDandH),thereisalargeupwardsforcethatslowstheir
downwardmotion.Thecycleisoftenrepeatedmercilessly,churningtheriders'stomachsandmixingthe
afternoon'scottoncandyintoaslurryof....Thesesmalldipsandhillscombinethephysicsofcircular
motionwiththephysicsofprojectilesinordertoproducetheultimatethrillofaccelerationrapidly
changingmagnitudesanddirectionsofacceleration.Thediagrambelowshowsthevariousdirectionsof
accelerationsthatriderswouldexperiencealongthesehillsanddips.

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ForceAnalysisofCoasterHills
Atvariouslocationsalongthesehillsanddips,ridersaremomentarilytravelingalongacircularshaped
arc.Thearcispartofacirclethesecircleshavebeeninscribedontheabovediagraminblue.Ineach
oftheseregionsthereisaninwardcomponentofacceleration(asdepictedbytheblackarrows).This
inwardaccelerationdemandsthattherealsobeaforcedirectedtowardsthecenterofthecircle.In
regionA,thecentripetalforceissuppliedbythetrackpushingnormaltothetracksurface.Alongregion
B,thecentripetalforceissuppliedbytheforceofgravityandpossiblyeventhesafetymechanism/bar.
Atespeciallyhighspeeds,asafetybarmustsupplyevenextradownwardforceinordertopulltheriders
downwardandsupplytheremainingcentripetalforcerequiredforcircularmotion.Therearealsowheels
onthecarthatareusuallytuckedunderthetrackandpulleddownwardbythetrack.AlongregionD,
thecentripetalforceisoncemoresuppliedbythenormalforceofthetrackpushingupwardsuponthe
car.

Themagnitudeofthenormalforcesalongthesevariousregionsisdependentuponhowsharplythe
trackiscurvedalongthatregion(theradiusofthecircle)andthespeedofthecar.Thesetwovariables
affecttheaccelerationaccordingtotheequation
a=v2 /R
andinturnaffectthenetforce.Assuggestedbytheequation,alargespeedresultsinalarge
accelerationandthusincreasesthedemandforalargenetforce.Andalargeradius(graduallycurved)
resultsinasmallaccelerationandthuslessensthedemandforalargenetforce.Therelationship
betweenspeed,radius,acceleration,massandnetforcecanbeusedtodeterminethemagnitudeof
the seatforce
(i.e.,normalforce)uponarollercoasterrideratvarioussectionsofthetrack.Thesample
problembelowillustratestheserelationships.Intheprocessofsolvingtheproblem,thesameproblem
solvingstrategyenumeratedabovewillbeutilized.

SampleRollerCoasterProblem
AnnaLiticalisridingonTheAmericanEagleatGreatAmerica.Annaismovingat18.9m/s
overthetopofahillthathasaradiusofcurvatureof12.7m.UseNewton'ssecondlawto
determinethemagnitudeoftheappliedforceofthetrackpullingdownuponAnna's621kg
rollercoastercar.
Steps1and2involvetheconstructionofafreebodydiagramandtheidentificationofknownand
unknownquantities.Thisisshowninbelow.
GivenInfo:
m=621kgv=18.9m/s
R=12.7m
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Find:
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Fappattopofhill
Step3ofthesuggestedmethodwouldnotapplytothisproblemsincetherearenoforcesdirected"at
angles"(thatis,alltheforcesareeitherhorizontallyorverticallydirected).Step4ofthesuggested
methodinvolvesthedeterminationofanyknownforces.Inthiscase,theforceofgravitycanbe
determinedfromtheequationFgrav=m*g.Sotheforceofgravityactinguponthe621kgcaris
approximately6086N.Step5ofthesuggestedmethodinvolvesthecalculationoftheaccelerationfrom
thegivenvaluesofthespeedandtheradius.UsingtheequationgiveninLesson1,theaccelerationcan
becalculatedasfollows
a=v2/R
a=(18.9m/s)2/(12.7m)
a=28.1m/s2

Step6ofthesuggestedmethodinvolvesthedeterminationofanindividualforcetheappliedforce.
Thiswillinvolveatwostepprocess:firstthenetforce(magnitudeanddirection)mustbedetermined
thenthenetforcemustbeusedwiththefreebodydiagramtodeterminetheappliedforce.Thistwo
stepprocessisshownbelow.
Fnet=ma
Fnet=(621kg)
(28.1m/s2,down)
Fnet=17467N,down

AsshowninFBDat
right:
Fapp=FnetFgrav FappandFgravmustcombinetogether(i.e.,addup)tosupplythe
Fnorm=11381N requireddownwardsnetforceof17467N.
Thissamemethodcouldbeappliedforanyregionofthetrackinwhichrollercoasterridersmomentarily
experiencecircularmotion.

WeWouldLiketoSuggest...
Sometimesitisn'tenoughtojustreadaboutit.Youhavetointeractwith
it!Andthat'sexactlywhatyoudowhenyouuseoneofThePhysics
Classroom'sInteractives.Wewouldliketosuggestthatyoucombinethe
readingofthispagewiththeuseofourRollerCoasterModel
Interactiveand/orourRollerCoasterDesignInteractive.Youcanfind
theseInteractivesinthePhysicsInteractivessectionofourwebsite.
TheseInteractivesallowalearnertointeractivelyexplorethephysicsprinciplesthatunderlythesafe
designofarollercoast

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