How Roller Coasters Use Physics
How Roller Coasters Use Physics — an illustrated science story, set in Italy. 10 illustrated pages, free to read on Wonder Science.
Page 1
Eloise pointed up at the colossal roller coaster, its first hill seeming to touch the clouds. "How does it get all the way up there and then finish the whole track without an engine?" Her friend Leo shielded his eyes, grinning, "Magic, obviously!" Mia shook her head, her braid swinging. "No way, it has to be science! But what kind?"
Page 2
"The chain lift pulls it up the first hill, and that stores up a special kind of energy," Eloise explained, flipping open her notebook. "It's called potential energy, and it turns into kinetic energy, which is the energy of motion!" Leo looked skeptical. "So it just... falls the rest of the way? My book says the first hill is always the tallest on any coaster."
Page 3
Eloise imagined a time long before roller coasters, in a sunny Italian city with terracotta roofs. "To really understand, we have to go back over 400 years to Padua, Italy." A man with a long white beard was busy rolling brass balls down a wooden ramp. "This is where a scientist started figuring out the rules of how things move."
Page 4
"His name was Galileo Galilei, and he was endlessly curious about everything from stars in the sky to balls rolling on the ground," Eloise whispered, as if not to disturb him. Galileo adjusted the ramp, a focused look on his face. "He used experiments, not just ideas, to prove how the world works."
Page 5
Galileo let the ball roll, carefully listening to the tiny bells he had placed along the ramp to measure its speed. He smiled, looking up as if speaking to Eloise across time. "'All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered,'" he murmured to himself, making a note on his parchment. "'The point is to discover them.'"
Page 6
"He discovered that the higher he started the ball, the faster it went at the bottom!" Eloise explained, watching the experiment. "That's potential energy at the top converting into kinetic energy. It's the exact same principle that powers a roller coaster."
Page 7
"Galileo's ideas about energy and motion changed everything, leading to machines, rockets, and even roller coasters!" A huge hydroelectric dam appeared in Eloise's imagination. "It's amazing how much power is stored in things. Did you know a single lightning bolt is five times hotter than the surface of the Sun? That's some serious energy!"
Page 8
Back at the park, Eloise pointed decisively at the giant first hill of the coaster. "See? That's why your book was right, Leo! The first hill has to be the tallest to collect enough potential energy for the entire ride." Mia's eyes went wide. "Oh! So it's basically 'charging up' with height!"
Page 9
"It's just like my skateboard!" Leo shouted, pretending to balance on a board. "I start at the top of the ramp and can go all the way up the other side!" Mia added, "Or like the pendulum on my grandma's clock, swinging back and forth." Eloise grinned, "Exactly! It's science we see every single day."
Page 10
"So a roller coaster is just a giant, awesome gravity-powered energy converter!" Eloise declared, circling a drawing in her notebook. Leo scratched his head. "Okay, but if energy just changes form, why does the ride eventually slow down and stop at the end? Where does the energy go?"
About this story
- Location: Italy
- Audience: kids (ages 6–12)
Questions and answers
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