Roller Coaster Terror
Why are people willing to go on roller coasters?
Similar to horror movies, people ride ride horror movies for the controlled fear. People know that they aren't really putting themselves in danger but they are letting themselves get out of control at extreme speeds. The combination of speed and unexpected turns are what make roller coasters so appealing. The butterflies that appear in your stomach before the roller coaster starts and the stomach drop that people get when a roller coaster abruptly falls are reasons that people crave roller coasters.
One thing that makes roller coasters so cool is that they subject you to new effects of gravity. Right now you are experiencing 1-G force which is the normal gravitational force on Earth. On a roller coaster you experience more than 1-G force. When a body is subject to more than 1-G force it wants to move in one direction. When roller coasters go on a curve or a loop your body feels thrown outwards because your body is resisting the change. These changes result in the cool feelings that the body experiences when riding the roller coaster and they are what draws many people back.
Roller coasters rely on illusion and the psychology of fear. A roller coaster will never go faster than when it is going down its largest hill but to the rider it seems as if the ride is getting faster and faster. This is the illusion that the riders get. The ride also seems to take hours when the average roller coaster ride is two and half minutes. This is fear. Roller coaster designers play off of these fears even more by making loops tighter and adding more loops makes the ride seem longer and gives the illusion of high speed. The roller coasters below play off of these fears and were specifically designed to give the rider a specific feeling.
Similar to horror movies, people ride ride horror movies for the controlled fear. People know that they aren't really putting themselves in danger but they are letting themselves get out of control at extreme speeds. The combination of speed and unexpected turns are what make roller coasters so appealing. The butterflies that appear in your stomach before the roller coaster starts and the stomach drop that people get when a roller coaster abruptly falls are reasons that people crave roller coasters.
One thing that makes roller coasters so cool is that they subject you to new effects of gravity. Right now you are experiencing 1-G force which is the normal gravitational force on Earth. On a roller coaster you experience more than 1-G force. When a body is subject to more than 1-G force it wants to move in one direction. When roller coasters go on a curve or a loop your body feels thrown outwards because your body is resisting the change. These changes result in the cool feelings that the body experiences when riding the roller coaster and they are what draws many people back.
Roller coasters rely on illusion and the psychology of fear. A roller coaster will never go faster than when it is going down its largest hill but to the rider it seems as if the ride is getting faster and faster. This is the illusion that the riders get. The ride also seems to take hours when the average roller coaster ride is two and half minutes. This is fear. Roller coaster designers play off of these fears even more by making loops tighter and adding more loops makes the ride seem longer and gives the illusion of high speed. The roller coasters below play off of these fears and were specifically designed to give the rider a specific feeling.
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Gravity Max, Lihpao Land Discovery World, TaiwanThis roller coaster is one of the most terrifying in the world due to its abrupt drop. The roller coaster ascends a 114 foot left before abruptly stopping. The track then abruptly breaks off. It is a 34 story verticle drop. People riding this roller coaster tend to know what is coming. That is the cool thing about roller coasters, people get to see the track before they choose to go on it. Everyone knows that the drop is coming and they are just waiting. The 114 foot rise just build the fear and the tension. When a person finally reaches the top, they are just waiting for the drop. Even though they are expecting it, the drop takes them by surprise and the screaming begins.
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Iron Rattler, Six Flags Fiesta, TexasThe Iron Rattler is a roller coaster constructed out of a combination of metal and wood. It is aid that this combination makes for a much smoother ride. This roller coaster is a combination of large drops and large spins. The first drop is 170 feet. Before the drop the roller coaster slows down just enough so that the fear truly hits you. You know that the drop is coming and that there is no way off. This roller coaster also has a complex spin which gives you the feeling of zero gravity. The combination of these two elements and the high speeds are what makes this roller coaster one of the best in the world.
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Wicked Twister, Cedar Point, Ohio |
Kingda Ka, Six Flags Great Adventure, New JerseyThis is the highest and one of the fastest roller coasters in the world. At its highest point the roller coaster is 456 feet tall. At this height, gravity is almost doubled! Its fastest speed is 128 miles per hour which is face-distorting. This roller coaster was designed to be extreme, if you do not like roller coasters than this is not for you. This roller coaster is almost instantly going up. When it drops this roller coaster goes through a few spins until reaching its highest speed. the designer of this roller coaster made sure that Kingda Ka is a ride you will not soon forget.
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This roller coaster is the world's highest suspended roller coaster. People who go on this roller coaster sit in seats where their legs are allowed to swing. Even though the rest of their bodies are suspended, the fact that their feet are allowed to swing adds an extra fear. It allows the rider to feel the gravity even more and to feel the wind flying by their legs. The verticle twist is expected but shocking. Your going at extreme speeds and suddenly changing directions. This change is a shock to both the stomach and the rest of the body because your body wants to continue to go forward.
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