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Racer Habits


IndyGuy4KI
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A couple of gross physics questions:

If there is a "protein spill" while someone is at the top of the Drop Tower as it releases, doesn't the "protein" just go straight down? On WindSeeker though while spinning 30+ miles an hour 300ft in the air(not sure what the diameter of the seats' circle will be since that would be a factor to), isn't there a good possibility of some serious LONG DISTANCE projectile "protein"?

Not so sure about the Red Racer after this thought.

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Caution: morbid talk of vomit physics in this post.

A couple of gross physics questions:

If there is a "protein spill" while someone is at the top of the Drop Tower as it releases, doesn't the "protein" just go straight down? On WindSeeker though while spinning 30+ miles an hour 300ft in the air(not sure what the diameter of the seats' circle will be since that would be a factor to), isn't there a good possibility of some serious LONG DISTANCE projectile "protein"?

Not so sure about the Red Racer after this thought.

Theoretically, you're onto something. However, the biggest issue with this is air resistance. Even in calm winds, the air is going to separate the, um... projectile into "rain", especially from that high up. In doing so, it's going to slow the projectile down a bit--think of dropping a feather, except it's made of liquid and falls presumably faster.

In the case of Drop Tower, if the winds are calm, this means you could actually beat your lunch to the bottom of the tower, only to be showered in your LaRosa's around the point where the vehicle's speed severely diminishes.* In the case of WindSeeker, I'd guess that some of it would get on your leg, while the rest would travel tangent to the circle of motion at a reduced acceleration, only to land a couple feet away horizontally. If you mix in a wind factor, though... I'd say it isn't entirely impossible that "come and smell the funnel cakes" could become Red Racer's new motto, if you catch my drift.

-TFTW, listening to the rhythm of the falling rain... and about to leave to get some Vietnamese food. Tasty!

*This is assuming that the Drop Tower vehicle encounters less air resistance in freefall than the average liquid. I'd wager it does since the airtime is arguably around 0 G's--if resistance or friction were an issue, you wouldn't "feel" quite as much like you're falling.

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Good points TombRaiderFTW.

Now to "clean up" this issue.(Sorry Terp)

If the inevetible coins falling from pockets are given the proper frisbee motion that could be provided from WindSeeker's rotation, wouldn't you think given the right circumstances they could get some pretty serious distance?

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^I'd guess it's possible, but still not very likely. A quarter won't lose its shape like the other stuff, but because of its small mass, it will have a relatively small momentum. Air will act the same way and slow it or change it's direction, so unless you're throwing it off the ride or are riding in straight-line winds, it's probably not going to go much farther horizontally. Roughly based off the webcam images, I'm willing to guesstimate that coins would hardly go beyond the edge of the loading "platform".

Even if I'm completely off base, between Mondial and KI, I'm sure someone has brought these sorts of things up. I'm just basing this stuff off a study of free-falling objects from fall quarter.

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A couple of gross physics questions:

If there is a "protein spill" while someone is at the top of the Drop Tower as it releases, doesn't the "protein" just go straight down? On WindSeeker though while spinning 30+ miles an hour 300ft in the air(not sure what the diameter of the seats' circle will be since that would be a factor to), isn't there a good possibility of some serious LONG DISTANCE projectile "protein"?

Not so sure about the Red Racer after this thought.

Well...since you asked....in a perfect world (meaning to wind or air resistance), any objects (spit, coins, etc) could travel 57.935 meters horrizontally

Edit: Actually...this is incorrect. I used its rotational velocity, not linear. Gimme a sec :P

Edit 2: This IS correct!

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Well...since you asked....in a perfect world (meaning to wind or air resistance), any objects (spit, coins, etc) could travel 57.935 meters horrizontally

Edit: Actually...this is incorrect. I used its rotational velocity, not linear. Gimme a sec :P

Edit 2: This IS correct!

Doesn't it look to you like the Red Racer track is 190 feet from the outside of the WindSeeker's circle?

I'm not trying to start anything, I'm just curious.

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I like a woodie that throws me around.. hence why Voyage and Georgia Cyclone are on my top 5 wooden coasters..

however, with ridiculously and unnecessarily large woodies like MS or SOB (tomayto tomahto), in the past I have refused to ride anywhere but row 1.. but maybe, just maybe, they will get another chance.. IMO if you can take the beating that Georgia Cyclone gives you, you can pretty much handle any wooden coaster.. I have several friends that refer to it as the Georgia Bruiser, yet somehow it's my #3 woodie. B)

I always thought GASM was worse then GC . That ride killed my back. But I got a pretty heavy air time ride on Cyclone when the ride op failed to check my lap bar. (true story)

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I tend to ride whichever side has the shortest visible line, if open. Just because there's a big tower nearby doesn't mean you'll be close to the riders or get anything out of it. Either side is about as far away as each other when it's operating, anyways.

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