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Roller coaster moments that defy physics

Matt N

Matt N

TS Member
Favourite Ride
Mako (SeaWorld Orlando)
Hi guys. Roller coasters are dictated by physics; the Newtonian laws of motion are the main thing guiding the roller coaster’s design. So by nature, you’d expect the way in which roller coasters feel and ride to be fairly predictable, and explainable using some basic Newtonian principles. However, that explanation is sometimes a lot harder to fathom. Sometimes, a roller coaster just does something that feels like it shouldn’t be possible within that context. Sometimes, coasters produce a true blinder of a sensation that has you struggling to find the physics-based justification of why it happens. So my question to you today is; what roller coaster moments, or roller coasters more generally, seemingly defy physics, in your view?

Of course, nothing can actually defy physics, because Newton’s Laws of Motion dictate the very world we live in and why roller coasters move in the way they do, but I’m referring to those coasters that produce moments that really flummox you. Those coasters that produce moments that feel like they shouldn’t feel like they do when taking into account info about the ride and the general principles of physics. These moments just defy any scientific explanation and really confuse you when trying to work out the physics behind them.

I’ll get the ball rolling with my suggestion.

This might seem like a strange choice, but a coaster that stands out as seemingly defying physics of the ones I’ve ridden is actually one of my first ever roller coasters; Runaway Mine Train at Alton Towers. Now I can sense your funny looks at the fact that I’ve nominated a Mack powered coaster from 1992 as “defying physics”, but hear me out. The moment I’m referring to in particular is that helix into the Congo River Rapids tunnel. RCDB states that RMT’s top speed is only 22.4mph, yet to me, that helix feels faster than any moment on Thirteen across the park, which allegedly goes nearly double the speed. And even though this helix is not especially big at all, it feels as though you accelerate at a stupidly fast rate given its size, and pull a surprising amount of g-force; how those sensations are even possible given RMT’s alleged top speed and the height of that particular helix, I have absolutely no idea!

But what roller coaster moments, or roller coasters in general, defy physics in your view?
 
Matt N said:
Hi guys. Roller coasters are dictated by physics; the Newtonian laws of motion are the main thing guiding the roller coaster’s design. So by nature, you’d expect the way in which roller coasters feel and ride to be fairly predictable, and explainable using some basic Newtonian principles. However, that explanation is sometimes a lot harder to fathom. Sometimes, a roller coaster just does something that feels like it shouldn’t be possible within that context. Sometimes, coasters produce a true blinder of a sensation that has you struggling to find the physics-based justification of why it happens. So my question to you today is; what roller coaster moments, or roller coasters more generally, seemingly defy physics, in your view?

Of course, nothing can actually defy physics, because Newton’s Laws of Motion dictate the very world we live in and why roller coasters move in the way they do, but I’m referring to those coasters that produce moments that really flummox you. Those coasters that produce moments that feel like they shouldn’t feel like they do when taking into account info about the ride and the general principles of physics. These moments just defy any scientific explanation and really confuse you when trying to work out the physics behind them.

I’ll get the ball rolling with my suggestion.

This might seem like a strange choice, but a coaster that stands out as seemingly defying physics of the ones I’ve ridden is actually one of my first ever roller coasters; Runaway Mine Train at Alton Towers. Now I can sense your funny looks at the fact that I’ve nominated a Mack powered coaster from 1992 as “defying physics”, but hear me out. The moment I’m referring to in particular is that helix into the Congo River Rapids tunnel. RCDB states that RMT’s top speed is only 22.4mph, yet to me, that helix feels faster than any moment on Thirteen across the park, which allegedly goes nearly double the speed. And even though this helix is not especially big at all, it feels as though you accelerate at a stupidly fast rate given its size, and pull a surprising amount of g-force; how those sensations are even possible given RMT’s alleged top speed and the height of that particular helix, I have absolutely no idea!

But what roller coaster moments, or roller coasters in general, defy physics in your view?
Click to expand...
Nemesis!

The stats are not impressive, and the top speed is only 50mph, but it feels a lot faster and is surprisingly intense for a such a short, compact coaster. 🙂
 
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Sorry, not roller coasters but I think drop towers are a fine example of that. Small towers feel way more intense than the much taller ones. I've been on Apocalypse, Detonator and even The Blackpool Tower Dungeon mini drop tower, that took my breath away. Yet i have also been on Huracan Condor, Hangover and more recently Orlando Free fall, where i practically felt nothing.
 
Most of Zadra - in a good way

Bandit - in all the wrong ways. It felt like it was doing the opposite to what it should. Very unpleasant
 
I thought of another one that completely defies explanation to me. This is more of a general ride type than a particular coaster, but; how is it that B&M Hyper Coasters manage to provide such consistently strong airtime throughout the train?

I know this seems like a slightly stupid thing to ask, but to me, it completely defies explanation. On many coasters with airtime that I’ve done, the airtime tends to be distinctly stronger on one extreme end of the train, or possibly both if you’re lucky, and the middle tends to be somewhat weaker.

However, B&M Hyper Coasters defy this rule, from my experience. Regardless of what seat you’re sat in, these coasters deliver phenomenal airtime!

As it’s my most ridden B&M Hyper Coaster by some margin (10 rides on SS compared to 3 on Mako, and I did SS in a variety of different rows, including front, back and middle), I’ll use Silver Star as an example to explain what I mean.

My first ride on Silver Star was in row 5, so slap bang in the middle. As such, I was thinking “oh, this might be a bit weak”, but my oh my; it still delivered phenomenal airtime over every hill! Those parabolic hills in the first section still provided phenomenal sustained airtime, and the post-MCBR section really delivered as well!

There are quite a few airtime moments on Silver Star that look as though they’d be very orientated towards the back row, such as the first drop and the ejector in the post-MCBR section. These were absolutely phenomenal in the back as expected, but I did ride the front row with a degree of trepidation due to SS (seemingly) having many back row focused moments. “Many of Silver Star’s airtime moments look more back row focused, so I’m not sure the front will be as good”, I thought as I sat down on the front. However, it was still every bit as good as the back! Somehow, the first drop still managed to get me flying out of my seat, the big hills in the first half were sublime, and even the post-MCBR section still provided wonderful kicks of airtime like in the other rows! As such, Silver Star is one of few coasters where I would really struggle to pick a favourite row; I initially thought it was the front, but then I rode again in the back and that was just as good, so I really couldn’t decide!

The sensations undeniably differ somewhat between the front and the back (on the big camelbacks, for instance, the front pushes you over them whereas the back pulls you over them), but the sensations in each row are equally phenomenal as they are on any other!

To me, that completely defies explanation; how on Earth did B&M manage to make it so that even moments that look as though they’d be very back row orientated still deliver on the front, and vice versa? I remember Mako producing very similar feelings when I first rode that; that’s still my number 1 coaster, and one overriding memory of mine from that ride came from the initial seconds after the lift hill, when I plummeted down the first drop. I was sat in row 2 for my first ever ride on Mako, so pretty close to the front, yet I was still yanked out of my seat with stronger airtime than most coasters provide on the very back row; I was asking myself “I’m in row 2… how on Earth am I flying out of my seat so much down this first drop? This normally only happens on the back!”.
 
Storm Chaser at Paulton’s Park seems to have a quite intense moment in it for a family coaster, the helix right down low near the ground towards the end of the ride has a very surprising kick to it. Of course I’m not claiming that it defies physics but it feels like you are travelling through it at quite some speed (even though it’s probably fairly modest) due to it being so close to the ground and having a near miss feel to it with the supports whizzing by that look extremely close to your head whilst travelling past them.
 
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Blue Fire's final roll. It looks so unassuming off-ride, so you might expect it to be simar to the lumbering rolls on Colossus or maybe similar to Smiler's final inversions at best. I'm still not convinced what they ended up with was anything like what they were aiming for but I'm not complaining.
 
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