Investigating the Effects of Loop Radius on Rollercoaster Performance

[sillybilly]

im doing this eperiment on rollercoasters and i was wondering if loop radius effects the vehicle; like if the loop was to small will it make it through? or if the loop was to big will it make it or just simply fall off? :) THANKYOU

 

[tiny-tim]

Welcome to PF!

Hi sillybilly! Welcome to PF!

im doing this eperiment on rollercoasters and i was wondering if loop radius effects the vehicle; like if the loop was to small will it make it through? or if the loop was to big will it make it or just simply fall off? :) THANKYOU

Yes, the minimum safe speed does depend on the loop radius.

The car will lose contact when the reaction force is zero …

and you can find when and whether that happens by using good ol' Newton's second law and the formula for centripetal acceleration

 

[sillybilly]

ohh yes thankyou that's wat i did i just wanted to no if i was on the right track fanks a ton YAY :)