Proposal

Exigence Why is knowing the of future roller coasters important? Knowing about what changes and innovation that will occur in the future with technology will have an impact on the capabilities of roller coasters. As with the space race many new things were invented that eventually made their way into the everyday lives of the American people. Aluminum foil is one of these things that become accessible to the average person. An advancement in one area could lead to faster construction and earlier deadlines as well as grand openings being sooner. Materials used in the construction of roller coasters could be engineered to be better whether lighter, stronger, or more durable, and have an impact on other projects where these materials are used. All of this leads to even more exciting and safer rides with capabilities we once could only imagination possible. Inquiry Where will creativity, innovation, and new developing technologies take us in the future design of roller coasters? In order to gain an understanding of what has already been predicted to occur and to make any further predictions, there are several things that need to be looked at and examined as well as increasing my knowledge in certain topics I already have a basic understanding in. Knowing what kind of materials that are used in the construction of roller coasters will allow for me to see if there are any current or future advancements in these products. If there are then this might lead to more possibilities for the designs of rides later on. Examining the evolution of the roller coaster ranging from the very first one ever built to today's greatest will show what advancements were made. What these advancements were allowed for taller, faster, and more complex coasters and these products that were improved encompassing the construction and design will be improved upon again and affect future designs. Magnetic brakes have appeared in today's rides. They are strategically placed along the track to heighten the anticipation of the rider. Finding out more about these type of brakes could help me to predict a different type of braking system that might be commonly used later or possibly another method of moving the cars on the track. The majority of roller coasters require the riders to stay seated in a car, some others however require standing, and a current trend involves the riders sitting-not in a car, but rather a seat that is suspend to the side of the track so there is nothing but air beneath their feet. The experience that the rider goes through changes and learning more about it will allow for me to make future predictions. With an advancement in one area the new possibilities made possible sometimes become standards or at least trends. By looking at current trends one could figure out what new advancement was made at least a year prior that allowed for the new trend and further advancement in making roller coasters even more fun. No roller coaster can be ridden if the appropriate g-force is not kept within check. This is a huge limiting factor in designing rides. Humans can only withstand so much before they blackout, which is caused by a lack of blood to the brain. Learning more about what g-force is and how it affects the human body will say a lot about what is possible in designing rides and what challenges have to be overcome. In order to design these roller coasters computer aided design is relied upon now these days to make accurate predictions of what the construction will entail. With such dependency steaming from this software, discovering more about what it is and how it helps in designing will aid in understanding the process somewhat of what designers go through. In an article describing what they thought the future of roller coasters would entail the phrase "micro gravity" was used. I have no idea what this means, but I do know that gravity is what makes the

rides as fun as they are. All of the increasing and decreasing in acceleration along all of the loops and twists in combination with all of the anticipation is what makes the ride worth going on again. So thusly micro gravity must play an important part in the experience and design as does regular gravity. Having very little previous knowledge on the design and construction of roller coasters I have no prior beliefs, prejudices, assumptions, or preconceptions towards the subject making everything that I will incorporate into my essay unbiased. Method I plan to complete mostly secondary research for this essay for it is the most accessible way to find out the information I need. However, if possible I would like to find out any of the information described above from a primary source.

Annotated Bibliography Annotated Bibliography: Into the Future of Roller Coasters Cavette, Chris. "Roller Coaster." Made How. Advameg Inc., n.d. Web. 28 Jan. 2013 The information on this site can be trusted. There are basic Ads By Google on the page as well as an incorporation that owns the site making the likelihood that the information listed is true. Some of the information stated on the page has been posted on other web pages. Sources used however are old. "Roller coasters are considered by many to be the most exciting ride in any amusement park (Cavette). The roller coaster has evolved in multiple ways from its basic starting form as riding down a hill on a sled to breaking records with height and speed. Each ride is unique and needs to be designed from scratch, factors like air space, terrain, and the target audience affect the design. The construction of the coaster occurs in a factory or on site and is then built from the ground up. The future of roller coasters appears to be faster, longer, taller, and as always incorporating, "new ways to give riders a physical and visual thrill (Cavette)." Harris, Tom. "How Roller Coasters Work." How Stuff Works. How Stuff Works Inc. n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2013 Very open website with similar idea to Wikipedia where people who know information on topics post articles about these topics. This openness of contributing information could cause some skepticism for the accuracy of what is posted. However the details given as well as the range of information in the article leave no room for skepticism. Ads listed on page are from big companies like Old Navy which adds to reliability of the topics discussed. Influence on social networking sites is impressive; article has been shared 200 times on Facebook and liked over twice as much. It is inertia that basically not only powers the roller coaster, but is what makes the ride so fun. Other centripetal and gravitational forces are experienced adding to the thrill. Certain innovations and developments have led to more possibilities for the design engineers and public waiting to experience these improvements for the first time. Of the eight main

coaster types a different experience is given and it can be said that,"each sensation has its own distinctive charm (Harris). n.p. "Bobsled roller coaster." Wikipedia. Wikipedia Foundation Inc. Web. 30 Nov. 2012 With close to 30 sources listed and no notice from Wikipedia notifying users of a lack of citations, the information listed appears to be credible. Having made conclusions on my own about the trends of types of roller coasters some if these were challenged by other websites. Using the data listed on the page I looked for general trends in the types of rides that were being discontinued in order to make my own projections. I predicted what types of rides will become more popular and completely discontinued in operation and construction in the future. The pipeline, side friction, steeplechase, and suspended roller coasters will likely become a thing of the past according to the data presented on this chart. This lead me to think of the idea that certain innovations will become standards causing other ideas to become obsolete. n.p. "List of computer-aided design editors." Wikipedia. Wikipedia Foundation Inc. Web. 17 Feb. 2013 Wikipedia's reliability is often questioned, but in the case of this online article the author has over 30 sources listed and gives the impression that they know what they are talking about. In order to have provided the information listed the author had to have experience with CAD. Reading about the changes of CAD since its first debut I concluded that the future design of rides will be easier, more accurate, and possibly will be constructed faster. When ideas can be shared not only sooner, but faster one can get feedback sooner. With the expanded capabilities of the software more detailed drawings can be produced as well as elements incorporated. Taking the drawing and turning it into reality will definitely be easier. n.p. "Roller Coaster Census Report." RCDB. Duane Marden. Web. 3 March 2013 The information could be trusted for no rumored details are ever posted however, there are no links or sources provided to support data posted. Database is a work in progress and is constantly expanding in information. Site is open for information from the public, but is classified as a company, yet no advertisements are on website. This expansive database contains every roller coaster in known existence in Africa, North America, Asia, Australia, Europe, and South America. These rides are classified based on the eight officially recognized types of roller coasters. Also viewable are the world records for the tallest, fastest, most inversions, and having the longest track. The latest additions are added as soon as they are witnessed being constructed or are officially reported. The public is encouraged to send updating information and photos of roller coasters and all of our info is updated as soon as it can be confirmed.

n.p. "Roller Coaster Construction Services." Park World Online. Datateam Business Media Limited, 7 April 2010. Web. 27 Jan. 2013 Article is an interview with a successful founder and owner of a company that builds parts as well as constructing rides called Roller Coaster Construction Services. Getting an interview with not simply the representative of the company, but the founder adds to the credibility. In addition to this there are multiple Ads posted. I have not seen another interview with an owner of a company involved with roller coasters posted on the internet. A variety of services are offered including unloading the roller coaster, checking parts, electrical and hydraulic assembly, and testing support. Using local contractors could mean "four or five companies on one job, and...this costs money, money, money...and time (Roller Coaster Construction Services). We do it all to avoid this hassle. Multiple launch coasters are being installed by us that have a reduced tolerance of .2mms rather than the normal 1-2cm. Making the tolerance of the steel more precise and the ride safer. n.p. "The Smiler (Roller Coaster)." Wikipedia. Wikipedia Foundation Inc. Web. 3 March 2013 The Roller Coaster Database website was cited as one of the sources. RCDB is also cited multiple times in my research article. Slight majority of the 47 sources listed are from 2012, although a good number are from 2013. Most recent source added was from march 28, 2013. Information on source listed is all compiled information from other varying sources. During construction a temporary name SW7, or Secret Weapon 7, was given. In December of 2012 vertical construction began and a end date of construction was given for the end of April this year. It was not until January 21, 2013 that the official name was confirmed to be "The Smiler." Following the release of the trailer a total of 14 inversions are shown including "...a unique intertwined cobra roll and batwing (The Smiler (Roller Coaster))." The coaster could set a world record for the most inversions by having, "...three more than any other coaster in the world (The Smiler (Roller Coaster))." n.p. "'Vomit Comet' roller coaster could bring weightless thrills to Earth." NBC News. NBC News, n.d. Web. 3 March 2013 This article is from a nationally recognized and respected news company. Their credibility is based off of fast and accurate information that is nonbiased. This company has been in business for several years and is serious about their work "You haven't felt anything yet (NBC News)." BRC wants riders to experience at least eight seconds of microgravity on a "Zero gravity" coaster. Once the capsule reaches the correct speed riders "will feel themselves levitating away from their seats (NBC News)" only to feel twice gravity's force a few moments later. Due to precision the ride is estimated to cost between 40 and 60 million dollars. The Vomit Comet could have a purpose outside of entertainment by being used for scientific research. Synthesis All of the sources listed lean towards being informational in a technical way. The author's opinions for the most part are kept out of the articles preventing the audience from knowing what the author's view is on the subject they are discussing. There are no predictions made of any

trends, innovations, or future developments. These sort of things are usually kept secret from the public and any other companies involved in the design of roller coasters. So far all of the sources I have come across have been purely internet based and articles written by very informed individuals. The one exemption being the interview that occurred with the founder of Roller Coaster Construction Services. Internet based articles from credible sources like NBC will most likely continue to remain my main source of information. Even though both the interview and the Roller Coaster article talk about the construction involved in building the coasters, the topics discussed are completely different. The founder of the company talks about the challenges the company faces with the terrain and structure, advances they have made, and conveniences made by hiring them rather than several other companies to do what is needed. However, the article talks about the general steps and process used for the completion of a ride. Both give insight to the construction process, but in very different ways. Tom Harris unlike several articles I came across, including the ones listed above, went into detail about the science behind the rides. He talked about g-force, centripetal force, acceleration, inertia, and other common physics laws and concepts. Harris even went on to add into his article what he feels makes the rides so exciting: inertia. Only a few writers mentioned CAD and its relevance to roller coasters, usually it was only a sentence or two in the whole article. This software has a rather large impact on the designing process and the author shows this in a way with the features available in the software. RCDB is a collaborative project much like Wikipedia where the public is encouraged to submit factual and technical information along with photographs dealing with roller coasters worldwide. This project starts to differ from Wikipedia when information is posted on the site. The public is not allowed to freely post any information or pictures on the site, rather the information and pictures have to be emailed and reviewed before the staff will post it. While both Wikipedia and RCDB are databases for information, external links are posted on Wikipedia for verification purposes and reader's interest. Neither of which can be found on the RCDB's website. The layout of the data on both of the Wikipedia sources and the RCDB website is given in a chart format with both columns and rows. The data displayed on the RCDB's website supports the assumption that worldwide bobsled coasters are decreasing in popularity and could one day become obsolete as does the chart displayed on the third source listed above. Genre Piece Text

Q: What will the future of roller coasters be like? A:

The future is looking bright for roller coasters. Inventions and experiences once only seen in movies, in one's imagination, and kept inaccessible by the general public, is becoming reality. The evolution of the roller coaster has been profound from its earliest form of riding down a snow covered hill on a sled, to today's sanity testing giants, much has changed. As Tom Harris, author of How Roller Coasters Work said, Whatever the future of roller coasters will be, the only limit will be the tolerance of the human body and the laws of physics.

The three top changes that occurred making the rides what they are today are the use of steel, incorporation of electricity, and a developed need for speed. The steel chain has avoided the need for pushing and pulling the cars to get the ride started and the public from walking up ramps to get inside of the carsi. Steel tubes being used in the support structures and along the track have broadened the physical capabilities allowing for less height restrictions and special features like inversions, for example loops. On earlier models of wooden coasters and more recent models loops have been attempted, but ultimately either the ride closed for safety concerns or was modified thusly removing the loop. Repeatedly it has been proven that loops are a feature made possible by the incorporation of steel tubes, and are a challenge for wooden coasters. Electricity enabled more safety features to be used, like for starting and stopping the ride when wanted and detecting certain environmental features. A need for speed is what pushes the competition for the fastest roller coaster. From a gentle 12 mph from the first coaster to use an oval track to the record 149.1 mph the Formula Rossa holds this need for speed will push roller coasters even fasterii. Innovative Thinking Companies compete against each other with innovation. In order to keep the public interested in their brand of products, improvement is essential. With cell phone companies new features and designs are constantly coming out as the companies update their past products to make them better. This same concept is applied to roller coasters. Design companies in an effort to keep the public interested in their rides make improvements and incorporate new features and designs. From this innovation occurs. As innovations are progressing in safety, expectations of what each ride should have or be able to handle, will be higher. The company Roller Coaster Construction Services has developed steel that has a reduced tolerance of only .2mms compared to the normal 1-2cmiii. This translates into having a more rigid track which means a safer ride. Advancements like this will eventually be used in multiple construction companys designs creating a new standard of tolerance. New safety laws will then be put in place for new rides being built. Everything we touch is becoming increasingly faster, stronger, and technical. The rides we experience now and will in the near future will as well. This improvement will continue and not only make rides safer, but more expensive to build. Features like detecting the wind speed are costly, but allow workers to know if it is too windy for operation or if certain adjustments of the ride need to be made. When it comes to safety every second and every millimeter counts. The process of preparing the site will not become much easier in the future. These required steps do involve modern technology , but these steps are also very detailed. The steps involved have a large impact on the design and building process of the ride and need to be done properly step by step to avoid mistakes. Increasingly over the years CAD, or Computer-Aided Design, has been used in the designing of roller coasters. As the capabilities for the software increases the designing process of the rides becomes easier. Changes in the software have it possible for the drawings to be more accessible among multiple people, allowing faster feedback, editing, and sharing all due to the mobile app. These changes have also allowed better visualizing of the ride and composing parts. With custom shapes being allowed the drawings can now be more detailed. Innovative ideas like the winged design have allowed riders to truly experience the motion of the ride and the surrounding scenery rather than the track laid out before them. The heartline roll as well focuses on the rider and the thrill they are experiencing than the track layout. The axis of rotation is

centered around the passengers heart so the riders are rotating around their chest rather than the rail. [[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Herzlinie.svg ]]] Is it Science Fiction, or a Prediction of the Future? The future will consist of record breaking and one-of-a-kind ideas. Rides will be taller, longer, faster, and more precise. They will be more realistic and interactive shown by new innovations like the winged design and suspended coasters. The winged design places the riders on the side of the track rather than on top of it so to allow for the riders to experience the motion of the ride as well as the surrounding rather than the track. Suspended rides do this too, but instead of sitting on the side of the track, riders are underneath it and are grouped together. Having less restraints is a trend that will continue. Right now floorless, inverted, and flying coasters all take away the physical elements of the ride one generally experiences and focuses on the emotional thrill. With using these types of rides tricks can be played on the riders, like almost diving into water. These rides make every turn a surprise for the track is not clearly laid out in front of you. The ride titled Vomit Comet is expected to range in cost from 40-60 million dollars due to precision of rideiv. This precision will allow riders to feel weightless and twice as heavy each ride. Weight is going to vary from ride to ride, so to ensure a proper experience each time certain adjustments need to be made. The future will consist of more multi launching rides where the car is propelled at other points of the track other than traditionally just at the beginning and end. The SW7 at Alton Towers in England, UK launches the car three times during the ride. This catapult-launching technique is a new way for riders to start a ride. Instead of the usual being lifted up a ramp by a chain, the car can now go in any direction and angle the designers choose at the beginning of the ride. Using this opens up the possibilities of the ride. As of today there are only seven fourth dimension roller coasters in existence[i]. This will change in the coming years as more companies will develop rides that use this "fourth dimension." A ride becomes classified as being fourth dimension when the cars can rotate 360 forward or backward. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sfmm_X2_train_Workings.gif]]] Certain ideas will be discontinued like the pipeline, side friction, steeple chase, and suspended. Friction roller coasters are quite inefficient considering the energy spent to operate ride. Pipelines are inefficient to some degree as well and the overall number of these types of rides worldwide is not very high. New pipeline rides also have not been built in recent years in countries outside of Japan and Kuwaitv. The number of wooden roller coasters is increasingly being outnumbered by steel. Wooden coasters may have that distinctive charm and feel, but so much more is possible from steel- one thing being loops. Wooden rides may become obsolete or possibly rare. As of April 24, 2013 according to rcdb.com the ratio of steel roller coasters to wooden ones is 35:2.. Three dimensional printing is a current reality and objects like snowboardsvi and organs like hearts and kidney have been developed using this techniquevii. It is only a matter time before three dimensional printing is integrated into the manufacturing process of rides. Instead of building the parts in a warehouse or on site, entire sections could be printed out thusly shortening construction time. Very thin layers of the material would be laid down until the desired shaped and dimensions are acheived. There is some talk about having the public being able to design their own rideviii. Using the programmed robotic arm that is used in more complex motions, like in building vehicles, be the roller coaster and

eliminating all tracks and other distractions. This means a rider would be sitting in a stationed, free moving seat with the images around them changing so it will seem like they are moving along a track. Microsoft recently received a patent of an invention of theirs. The patent appears to be for a gaming projection system where the screen is projected 360 around the enclosed room. The projection even has the capabilities to bend around objects, completely surrounding the playerix. Having this in combination with the idea of designing one's own ride leads to a very realistic, personal, and innovative ride. Friction is a force experienced when the motion of two or more surfaces roll or slide against each other. Heat is created because of thisx. So, when one rubs their hands together the sliding motion creates friction which thusly creates heat which warms up one's hands. Making the rides more eco-friendly could include reducing friction or using the friction created to power other aspects of the ride. Friction slows down the ride and creates obstacles for the designers. Putting this unavoidable force to good use could be a trend in the future. There are currently no rides that use the friction created by the cars to power other things, though in an experiment a group of men built a short functioning roller coaster that did use the friction created from the wheels of the car and the track to power the car.

How roller coaster is made - material, history, used, parts, components, structure, product, History, Raw Materials, Design, The Manufacturing Process of roller coaster, Quality Control ii Record Holders iii Rollercoaster Construction Services iv Vomit Comet v Pipeline vi snowboard vii 3D Printing viii Design Own Roller Coaster ix Patent x Friction Definition