Amusement Park Physics With a NASA Twist - Space Flight Systems ...

NASA Connection—Carousels
Carousels are by no means a thrill ride, yet they rely on Newton’s
laws of motion as much as roller coasters. It is actually possible
that if allowed to spin out of control, a carousel could gain
enough speed so that the riders would be thrown off. Fortunately,
runaway carousels do not exist. The carousel is a delicate
balance of motion and forces. All of the horses move through
one complete circle in the same amount of time. This means the
inside horses have a slower linear speed than the outside horses
because they do not have to move as far.
Centripetal acceleration occurs whenever
the rider makes a turn. Both centripetal
force and the resulting acceleration are
directed inward, toward the center of the
circle. There has to be an inward force if
one is to move in a circular path, otherwise
one continues on a straight path. The
riders, however, experience a sensation of
an outward force. This is the same experience
as rounding a tight curve in an
automobile. The passengers feel pushed
against their door, when actually inertia is
causing them to move in a straight line that
is tangent to the circular path of motion.
A carousel ride is a ride that has centripetal acceleration.
Curves are banked on roads to prevent the necessity of a
large friction force from the tires on the road. The banking of
curves transfers this sideways force to a downward direction,
thus reducing the needed friction. The leaning of the benches
and poles on the carousel is the same as the banking of a
curve. The direction of the outward force is changed to
another direction.
The first fundamental space biology experiments to fly on the
International Space Station used a centrifuge to simulate gravity
conditions for bird eggs (Japanese quail). The experimental
setup was in an apparatus called the Avian Development
Facility (ADF). The ADF has special egg holders that fit into two
centrifuge carousels, which can be independently programmed
to simulate different gravity levels; from 0 up to 1 g. The
purpose of the ADF experiment was to observe developmental
changes of quail embryos in near weightless conditions.
Japanese quail eggs are tested in microgravity
conditions.
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Amusement Park Physics With a NASA Twist
EG–2003–03–010–GRC