How does a roller coaster function ?
In essence a roller coaster is a specialized railroad system, that consists of a track that rises and falls in designed patterns. The cars on a typical roller coaster are not self-powered. Instead, cars are pulled up with a chain or cable along the lift hill to the first peak of the coaster track. The potential energy accumulated by the rise in height is transferred to kinetic energy as the cars race down the first downward slope. Kinetic energy is then converted back into potential energy as the train moves up again to the second peak. This hill is necessarily lower, as some mechanical energy is lost to friction. A properly designed ride under good conditions will have enough kinetic, or moving, energy to complete the entire course, at the end of which brakes bring the train to a complete stop and it is pushed into the station.
