Roller coaster/park trivia

[6000000flags]

Just say a question and answer it, then if it is correct, you do your own question.
Mine is
What is a chain dog? and for extra credit, where is it located on a rollercoaster train?


Regards
Flags

[RollerC]

A chain dog,if memory serves my right, is a safety diviece that prevents a rollercoaster train from rolling down the lifthil and causing an accident. I forget what it looks like but it has a coild up spring placed in it so when it runs over the teeth on a lifthill, smacks down and prevents the train form having a roll back. It is located on the bottom left or right of the train. :)

[6000000flags]

your go rollerc

[AltoSax1423]

:haha: Well I'm glad two people know... YEAH!!! Three people know!!! (me)

[leonardofury]

Technically speaking anyone whose read this thread now knows;)

[phoenixhazard]

i knew before just didnt know it was called a "chain dog"

here's my question. (its quite easy but i wanted to ask it for fun)
What does LIM stand for and how does it work?

[Harpo]

Linear Induction Motor. Works via electromagnetic impulses. (My office-mate in college was working on his Ph.D. in electromagnetics. I'd be glad to contact him for more detail, including formulas that could fill a notebook, if you like!)

I think the earliest LIM ride I recall riding was the WangWay People Wanger -- oops, I mean, the WedWay People Mover at Disney World's Magic Kingdom. Is the People Mover still there? I know it no longer exists at Disneyland.

[phoenixhazard]

its still there

[Harpo]

Ah, that's good. I always thought it was rather cool -- even on my first visit to Disney when I was 8, I liked the technology involved in that ride!

So, did I give the answer you were seeking?

Oh, and, without warning, I suddenly remembered the name of the instant messenger software I've used: ICQ. Amazing how it just pops right into the head after a couple of hours! :D Must be a time lag in the disk access!

[phoenixhazard]

yep thats the answer all right. on somewhat of a related subject in hs i made a knex roller coaster that goes straight up and then back down, like Superman at magic mountain. anyway i used magnets and current to create a force, unfortunatly i prooved that the theory does not work on standard home batteries since the more voltage you created made the coaster weigh more. so my little car could barely make it an inch, much less up a steep hill.

[Harpo]

Hmm, now I need to come up with one, eh?

Well, here's something that I thought was kind of amusing. I'm sure the folks here will get it easily, but there's a small story behind it.

Last year, when I visited Las Vegas, the High Roller at the top of the Stratosphere was closing down frequently due to small amounts of rain. While talking to one of the employees at the top of the tower (as I waited for the ride to sufficiently dry), he said to me, "Well, we can't run it in the rain because the train would slip off the track."

This one's an essay question, so there are a few things you need to answer! Is the employee's explanation correct? Why or why not? If it is correct, that's all you need to say. If it isn't correct, what prevents the train from slipping off the track, and what would be the reason why the Stratosphere couldn't run the ride in the rain? Quoting the "MSU Electrical Engineering Sample Ph.D. Qualifying Exam," please be "concise, objective, and specific."


Hmmm, trying to do an LIM with batteries.... I would think you'd need some sensors and a switch to rapidly turn the electromagnets on and off at the appropriate moments as the train passes over them. It could possibly be done with one electromagnet and without control software IF the magnet is located behind the vehicle, and an opposite polarity permanent magnet is attached to the back of the vehicle.

The magnet alignment would need to look something like this:

With battery disconnected:
-------------------- -------------------
* power off * * neg | pos *
-------------------- -------------------

With battery connected:
-------------------- -------------------
* pos | neg * * neg | pos *
-------------------- -------------------

Then, the vehicle should be propelled away from the electromagnet, but the force would rapidly weaken, hence all propulsion would have to come in a very short time span, which may not be sufficient for getting lots of thrust for the coaster vehicle. Stronger magnets will help, but they'd still have a very limited EM field range.

[phoenixhazard]

i was only trying to use the law that states that a force is applied when their is a magnetic field and a current. the force is applied in the direction using the right hand rule

as for the stratosphere the employee is an idiot. their are guide wheels (dont know correct name) under so the car can never slip off the track. the reason they probably were not running the ride in the rain is because it could possibly interfere with the sensors.

[jonnyrocks]

that is impossible because there are wheels on the top bottom and side.
umm it might not be able to run in the rain because it might go faster and cause it to be unsafe g-forces?? i dunno......

[leonardofury]

Is the Highroller a Powered Train ride?

[RollerC]

Sry for the Delay. I will ask a question after someones answers Harpos.

Anways, yes, it is imposible for the car to fall off because of its Wheel configuration(sp) I guessing that at that height, the rain droplets are bigger than when they hit the ground. So, people riding High Roller could get minor injurys. Or the track is to slippery for the wheels to grip it. Allowing the train to vally?:confused:

[RCT2head]

i dunno...
maybe the coaster can't run, because the guide wheels have a greater chance of slipping in the rain, hence the train having a greater chance of derailing, therefore validating the employee's explanation...
if i didn't even come close, i guess i have to go to take pysics over!

[Harpo]

Well, you folks have the right idea as far as why the employee was a dunderhead -- the train can't slip off of the track because of the upstops and the inner guidewheels. There are wheels on top, bottom, and inside the track, preventing it from being able to slip off unless there's a major wheel malfunction.

But, the reason why it can't run in the rain hasn't quite been answered, although there are some close calls! Anyone want to give that part another shot?

[erhswimming]

Well, I guess it could be a combination of things. For one, they could be afraid of thunder in the area, after all they're on a steel coaster 1000 feet up in the air. Another thing is that I've heard when it rains out in the desert, IT RAINS. Rides probably could be shut down just for heavy rains w/out any chance of thunder if the rain was heavy enough, it hurts your face and the train to ride in the rain (just try riding Son of Beast in the rain, it feels like a bunch of gravel flying in your face!). That's all I could think of.

[Harpo]

Nice try, but keep trying. They shut the ride down even in very light rains without any lightning. And, it's really not all that fast of a ride. Meanwhile, the Space Shot on top of the Stratosphere remains open in the same weather conditions.

There was one earlier reply that came very close, but not quite.

(Ain't I sneaky? ;) )

[RCT2head]

this is hard...
how about they closed the ride because the drainage of parts of the park flows right thru the ride area, possibly able to flood out the station, so they shut it down so that their guests won't get soaked standing in line, and they can be sure that their station and track sensors and brakes can work when they're supposed to. that might have something to do with a previous answer.

[pnkfloyd12]

This is just a guess, but I'd say either leonardo or RollerC were closest.

Either the ride is a powered train ride where the slightest rain could cause it to short circuit or when the track gets wet, the train doesn't have the necessary traction to complete the circuit.

[Harpo]

I would say that RollerC was about the closest.

It's not actually a powered coaster, but it's given its momentum via a set of drive wheels which are permanently affixed to the track at certain points, essentially like a wheel-powered lift instead of a chain lift. (The ride coasts at other points, where there aren't any drive wheels.) The rubber tires rely upon gripping the bottom of the coaster train in order to make it go. (Hence, slipperyness of the track is not an issue, since the drive wheels don't actually touch the track.) When the rubber is wet, the drive wheels fail to give the train an adequate push, hence it could wind up getting stuck somewhere where there isn't a drive wheel to push the train (essentially the equivalent of valleying, although there isn't much of a valley!).