Estimating Work for Rotating a Ferris Wheel

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The original Ferris wheel, designed by George Washington Gale Ferris Jr., featured 36 wooden cars, each capable of carrying 60 passengers, and rotated at a constant angular speed in about 2 minutes. The discussion centers on estimating the work required to rotate the passengers, with emphasis on understanding the concepts of angular speed, moment of inertia, and gravitational potential energy. It is clarified that while the wheel moves at a constant speed, work is done during the initial acceleration from rest to the final speed. Participants suggest calculating the moment of inertia of the passengers treated as point masses and using the equation for rotational kinetic energy to find the work done. The conversation concludes with the importance of including the gravitational potential energy change when considering the total work required.
  • #31
girlphysics said:
thank you cepheid and good night! : ) another successful physics night thanks to you. I hope your ok with me asking for your help until may 14th! haha. You help me understand so much better!

I'm not always online, but if I am, I will of course help. This website has many helpful Mentors and/or Homework Helpers, and I sort of dropped the ball on this problem anyway, and they set me straight. So it's a collaborative effort to be sure. Good night to you as well.
 

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