Weird But True (2016–…): Season 1, Episode 12 - Roller Coasters - full transcript
The fun of roller coasters are explained through practical physics principles of kinetic energy (speed), potential energy (height) and the Law of Conservation of Energy. Details include use of lifts to gain height and launches for speed.
CHARLIE: What's up guys?
Charlie here, you
know my sister Kirby!
KIRBY: Hey guys!
Today we're hanging out
in Jackson, New Jersey
at a theme park.
CHARLIE: Cause nothing gets us
more jacked up than talking
about science and experiencing
more G-forces than an
astronaut during take-off.
It's time for Weird But True!
(theme music plays).
Hey guys!
KIRBY: Hey!
CHARLIE: Alright we're glad
you're here cause Kirby and I
have a confession.
KIRBY: We have no
shame in admitting it.
CHARLIE: We're
generally open minded.
KIRBY: Fearless.
CHARLIE: Willing
to try new things.
KIRBY: But there's one
thing we just can't handle.
CHARLIE: Roller coasters.
KIRBY: Charles has a
pretty strong gut.
He can eat weird things.
Ride in a boat in the ocean.
And even fly in a helicopter!
No problem!
But for Charlie, a ride on a
roller coaster is a sure fire
way for him to end up
tossing his cookies...
If you know what I mean.
CHARLIE: And Kirby is
pretty all around fearless.
She can train huge
vicious birds of prey.
Handle all sorts
of scary insects.
And swim with sharks.
No problem.
But when it comes to
riding roller coasters.
She's filled with
absolute terror.
KIRBY: Ahhhh!!!
CHARLIE: Now it's time
for things to change!
KIRBY: I'm done being scared!
CHARLIE: I'm tired
of getting sick!
So today we're
unraveling the world of...
KIRBY: Rollercoasters!
CHARLIE: Alright guys,
let's get to know what
we're working with here.
KIRBY: Rollercoasters.
They come in a bunch of
different varieties to please
every sort of coaster lover.
CHARLIE: Or coaster phobic.
KIRBY: Or coaster
thrower upper.
CHARLIE: Let's check them out.
Good morning Madam welcome
to the Roller Coaster Café,
my name is Charlie.
How may I help you today?
KIRBY: Um do you
have any suggestions?
CHARLIE: For first
timers I would suggest
a wooden roller coaster.
Oh simply a classic.
KIRBY: Hmmm, what kind of
steel coasters do you have?
CHARLIE: We offer a variety of
specials today including the
inverted roller coaster,
the flying roller coaster, and
the fourth dimension roller
coaster where riders on either
side of the track,
and their seats whip
around on their own axis.
KIRBY: Hmmmm
nothing's catching my eye.
Roller coasters
kind of freak me out.
CHARLIE: No worries
madame they make me
sick to my stomach.
KIRBY: So many different
roller coasters to avoid.
CHARLIE: So many
different ways to throw up!
KIRBY: Until now!
So I did some research, and
I found out that you, my
friend, get motion sickness.
CHARLIE: Yeah that
sounds about right.
KIRBY: So scientists aren't
really sure why people get
motion sickness,
but the current accepted
explanation is the Sensory
Conflict Theory.
Alright, here's the deal.
Your brain uses a bunch of
different things to keep track
of your environment.
And the two big ones are the
vestibular system in your
ear which keeps track of your
body's movement.
And your vision which is a
bit more self-explanatory.
And the two, most of the time,
work quite nicely together.
When I look up I see the sky.
When I look down
I see the ground.
But in very
unfamiliar situations.
Like on a roller coaster,
you might get some
conflicting information.
And when there's a conflict
between those signals your
brain gets confused,
so the natural response for
people like Charlie is the
complete expulsion of one's
stomach contents, aka
launching the food shuttle,
aka blowing your beets,
aka tossing your tacos but,
there's a potential solution.
It was developed during the
training of US Navy Fliers:
conditioning.
95% of aviator trainees got
over motion sickness by
familiarizing themselves with
the speed and the
motion of the jets.
And then flying over and
over and over until they
knew what to expect.
So Charles.
If we're going to nip
this in the bud, there's
only one place to go...
A theme park!
We hopped over to
Jackson, New Jersey.
This is the place to tackle
our fear of coasters because
it's home to the tallest and
fastest roller
coaster in North America.
Kingda Ka.
CHARLIE: Weird but True guys,
Kingda Ka is 456 feet tall.
That's like if you took
three statues of liberties
and stacked them
right on top of each other.
Super tall!
Ugh I don't know Kirb...
KIRBY: What's up?
CHARLIE: I think we bit
off a little more than
we can chew here.
KIRBY: You good?
CHARLIE: I'm feeling...
KIRBY: Uh-oh.
CHARLIE: Feeling a little...
KIRBY: It's ok Charles,
let's snap back to headquarters
for a deep breath.
CHARLIE: Oh boy!
KIRBY: Alright
Charles deep breaths.
I know the park is gonna
take some getting used to.
So we're gonna be hopping
back and forth all day
to really ease into it.
CHARLIE: I don't know
about this Kirb.
KIRBY: Don't worry I got you.
We're gonna help you
master the movement and
motion of roller coasters
just like the US Navy Fliers
and their jets, so that
when you do finally ride,
you'll know what to expect.
And I'm gonna break it down
into a language that you
understand...Physics.
CHARLIE: Naturally.
KIRBY: Understand the physics.
Understand the movement.
CHARLIE: Food will
remain inside my body.
KIRBY: You got it, why don't
you help me kick things off
back at the park.
We got a Weird but
True fact for you.
All roller coasters
don't have motors.
They don't even have engines
propelling 'em forward.
CHARLIE: They don't need 'em,
but they can still run because
they're all based on one
simple physics principal.
The law of
conservation of energy.
KIRBY: Here's how the
rollercoaster system works.
The whole system has a
certain amount of energy.
Throughout the ride, some
energy is lost to things like
friction and air resistance.
The energy that is in the
system at any one time,
is in two forms:
Kinetic energy,
the energy of speed,
and Potential Energy,
the energy of height.
The faster something moves the
more kinetic energy it has.
The higher something is
off the ground the more
potential energy it has.
CHARLIE: So a super key part
of the roller coaster system
is that initial input of
energy that the roller
coaster uses up over
the course of the ride.
So there are two ways
of doing this in the
roller coaster world.
Classic roller coasters have
massive hills that lifts
drag them all the
way up to the top.
KIRBY: As the chain lift drags
the roller coaster up the hill
it's adding potential energy
into the system that the
coaster uses up throughout the
ride on the way back down.
CHARLIE: More modern roller
coasters don't use lifts.
They have launch tracks.
KIRBY: The launch tracks speed
up the cars really quickly,
adding a bunch of kinetic
energy into the system right
off the bat to make it fast.
After launch, the system
has stored enough energy
to last throughout
the entire ride.
And it's converted between
the two main forms:
Potential and Kinetic.
CHARLIE: This is also why, if
you check it out, the tallest
hill on the rollercoaster is
always gonna be the
first that you go over.
Because the system is
constantly losing energy, in
order for it all to work every
other hill has to be
shorter than the first.
KIRBY: Now you're
getting it, Charlie.
A track like this will work.
Because even though it's
losing energy, the roller
coaster car has enough to
travel over those hills.
But a track like this will not
work, because the car doesn't
have enough energy to climb
higher than the
point where it starts.
CHARLIE: So here's a great
example of it all in action.
El Toro, the wooden
coaster behind us.
So first the system has no
energy when it's at rest
during the boarding process.
KIRBY: And then, when the
coaster is brought over that
first hill by its lift system,
that lift system is bringing
energy to the whole thing.
CHARLIE: At the top of the
first hill it's at its maximum
potential energy.
And that's converted from
potential to kinetic as it
goes down speeding up,
and slowing down,
up and down hills.
KIRBY: And throughout the
entire ride, the system is
losing energy because of
air resistance and friction.
And the whole thing eventually
comes to a slow stop.
CHARLIE: And the rides over!
Its roller coaster physics...
ANNOUNCER: Welcome back
riders. How was your ride?
KIRBY: How ya feelin bud?
CHARLIE: I am
feeling VERY prepared!
KIRBY: You know
what that means!
It's game time.
Just like the US
Aviator Trainee.
We just gotta jump right in.
CHARLIE: Let's do it!
Now that I understand the
physics better, I want to put
my stomach to the test!
Wooo! Here goes
nothin'! Oh buddy!
(screams).
Whoa! Oh!
I barely kept it
together on that ride!
Oh! Wooo!
MAN: You alright?
CHARLIE: Maybe I
should do it again.
Oh my god!
Wooo!
(screams).
Wasn't so bad the second time.
Let's see how I do on another.
Woo!
And another, and another!
(screams).
When will it end?
Oh my gosh!
KIRBY: You okay?
CHARLIE: That was great.
KIRBY: No throwing up?
CHARLIE: No throwing up!
KIRBY: Way to go man!
I knew you'd conquer
your motion sickness!
CHARLIE: Alright guys we've
gotta take a quick break, but
when we come back.
It's time for Kirby to
tackle the roller coasters.
KIRBY: Wait, what?!
Weird but True, a roller
coaster in the United Arab
Emirates can reach
149 miles an hour!
CHARLIE: What's up guys
welcome back, today Kirby and
I are helping each other treat
our roller coaster
related ailments.
I just got over my
motion sickness.
So now, I'm good to go.
KIRBY: That's great Charles,
but I still have an issue.
CHARLIE: Oh yes,
Kirby so tell me...
What scares you specifically
about roller coasters?
KIRBY: Oh, everything.
CHARLIE: Could you be
a bit more specific?
KIRBY: Sure.
Well I'm going about a million
miles an hour and I'm in a
metal box on a track made of
sticks and I don't know the
last time the thing has been
inspected...
CHARLIE: Hmm
KIRBY: Or If I'm going
to hit a bird, or if
it's going to break down.
Loop-de-loops make no
logical sense to me,
I'm sure to fall out.
And the worst part is, at the
tops of hills it feel like I'm
going to fly out of my seat.
At the bottom of hills,
I feel like my heart is
being crushed by my chest.
CHARLIE: Well Kirby,
it looks like there's
a lot to unravel here.
KIRBY: We got a
lot to unravel.
CHARLIE: Let's
start with the basics.
Roller coaster safety is not
something that you should
spend too much time
worrying about.
Before anyone gets on one of
these things, safety experts
have to check off a long list
of standards from a
variety of organizations
with fancy names.
And Kirby, these people,
they check for everything.
They perform
accelerometer tests,
check slope height limits,
and perform daily inspections.
And on top of that,
every ride is tested
multiple times a day.
Maintenance personnel
literally walk along the track
looking for anything that
might be wrong.
KIRBY: Okay, okay, okay, I
guess that's not something I
should be too worried about,
but what about the whole
loop-de-loop, and flying out
of my seat thing?
CHARLIE: That's
also not an issue.
I'll tell you what I
mean back at the park.
All of the forces we
experience on roller coasters,
that press us back into our
chairs or lift us up in the
air, they're forces we
experience due to the
acceleration of our bodies.
Another name for
them is G-forces.
That's what you're
feeling, Kirby. G-forces.
KIRBY: Well G-forces
scare the heck out of me.
CHARLIE: To understand
G-forces, we need to
understand Inertia.
Cool science word! Inertia!
Inertia's the idea that an
object tends to resist any
change in motion unless
another force acts upon it.
Imagine you're flying down
a hill on a roller coaster.
At the bottom of the hill, the
roller coaster follows the
tracks and goes straight.
But your body's inertia wants
to keep heading in that
downward direction.
The result?
The body presses
hard against that seat.
Those forces pressing
you against your seat?
Those are positive G-forces.
During everyday
moments we live at 1 G.
But on roller coasters we
might experience moments
of 2 or 3 G's.
And our bodies feel
a lot heavier, too.
If you weigh 100 pounds at 1
G, at 3 G's your body will
feel like it weighs 300 lbs.
So it's much harder to raise
our arms and move around.
So at the bottom of the hills
we feel like we're being
pressed into our seats,
but at the top of the
hills the opposite happens.
Our bodies wanna keep going
upward, but the roller coaster
isn't going upward anymore.
So the G-forces are pulling us
up from our seats this time.
Those forces lifting
us off our seats are
negative G forces,
but they're very helpful.
G forces and inertia are the
very reasons why we don't have
to worry about falling out of
our seats on loop de loops.
While riding a loop de loop,
we're constantly experiencing
a G force that's pressing us
into our seats,
throughout the whole loop.
According to physics, it's
practically impossible to fall
out of one of these bad boys.
Let's try a little role
reversal here Kirby and
you explain it to me
back at the park.
KIRBY: OK, as long as I'm
not the one on the coaster.
So as Charlie rides this ride
right here, he experiences
positive G's when he's going
up those hills being pressed
into the back of his seat.
When he's zooming down the hill,
he experiences negative G's
which are moments
of weightlessness.
Positive G's, negative G's.
CHARLIE: Yeah,
Kirb, you did it!
Oh, um, sorry, yes,
so, um, wonderful job.
KIRBY: I mean, I know
these things aren't
gonna break down.
And that my risk of
injury is pretty small,
and that I'm not gonna
go flying out of my
seat on a loop-de-loop.
So I feel like I'm
ready to give it a go.
CHARLIE: To prove you are
finally cured of your roller
coaster ailments,
you must finally ride
a roller coaster.
KIRBY: Okay. Let's do this!
We're walking up to the
Harley Quinn crazy train!
It's tiny but mighty.
It's weird, it's true,
it's roller coaster physics!
Whooooo!
Best physics class ever!
We're going again!
Positive G's right now!
Here we go, here we go!
Negative G's! Whooooo!
Whooooo!
So excellent, so many Gs.
CHARLIE: Kirb
couldn't take it...
KIRBY: I can't take it
CHARLIE: You had to
go for the Harley Quinn.
KIRBY: Don't you be
talking smack. The Harley
Quinn was serious.
CHARLIE: Victory to
Charlie right here.
KIRBY: No way,
victory to the Kirb.
Time to try a
coaster together.
(Screaming and cheering).
Small but mighty.
CHARLIE Hey, it
looks like we're cured!
We can ride anything!
Anything...?
There she is Kirb!
KIRBY: I don't know...
CHARLIE: We can't claim
victory over our fears until
we take the ultimate ride.
Kingda Ka...
KIRBY: Whoa.
Weird but True, an early
version of the roller coaster,
was built out of ice!
CHARLIE: Kingda Ka....
Aw she's incredible.
MICHAEL: Why thank you.
CHARLIE: Who are you?
MICHAEL: I'm Michael,
I'm one of the engineers.
KIRBY: You helped
make this beast?
MICHAEL: I along with
a few other people.
Ah, you guys look
a little nervous.
CHARLIE: What are you talking
about we're not nervous!
MICHAEL: You're nervous...
CHARLIE: Yeah...
MICHAEL: But I can help
with that...I'll show
you some things, come on.
CHARLIE: Alright.
KIRBY: This guy's got
the coolest job ever.
Michael's an engineer
that designs and builds
rollercoasters.
His favorite Weird but True
fact, the first roller coaster
to go upside down
was designed in 1840!
CHARLIE: Describe the
situation, what are we
looking at right now?
MICHAEL: Alright, so
this train is coming
out of the station.
CHARLIE: Yeah.
MICHAEL: It is going to
the launch position.
And when it stops,
it connects up to what
we call the catch car.
KIRBY: Okay.
CHARLIE: Okay.
MICHAEL: And that catch car
will push the train right down
that track, 0 to 128
miles an hour in 3.5 seconds.
KIRBY: Right.
MICHAEL: Here it comes.
CHARLIE: Ohhh!
MICHAEL: And in 10 seconds
you are all the way at the
top, 456 feet.
And then it's pure free fall
as you come down, and then you
come up over this big hill
right here and you hit a bunch
of brakes that you'll see up
on the top of the hill coming
down, that takes out
all of the energy.
CHARLIE: Looking at this,
my heart is in my throat.
I'm like genuinely kind
of...freaking out right now.
MICHAEL: That makes me happy.
Like I love when people
are scared to get on a
ride but then they,
they still get on anyway.
CHARLIE: What can you
tell us to make us feel
better about this?
MICHAEL: I can show
you how it all works.
First of all the ride is
controlled by a programmable
logic controller,
PLC is what we call those.
And the PLCs monitor
everything that's going on in
the ride at once.
Any time it senses that
there's a problem or there's
something fails to function
the way it should, it shuts
the ride down in a safe mode.
CHARLIE: So for a ride as
tall as Kingda Ka, you're
building up a lot of energy
but it stops so quickly.
How does that happen?
MICHAEL: Kingda Ka utilizes
a principle in physics
called Lenz's Law.
And it involves magnetic fields
and non-ferrous materials.
CHARLIE: Cool science
word, non-ferrous metals.
They're metals that can't be
magnetized, like stainless
steel, copper, and aluminum.
MICHAEL: So to give you an
example, I brought along
a little copper tube,
and here in my back
pocket I have super
high-strength magnets.
Now, if I just drop these
magnets they fall,
just like anything else
does because of gravity.
CHARLIE: Yeah.
MICHAEL: However, if
I drop these magnets
inside this tube...
KIRBY: What?!
MICHAEL: There, it
comes out the bottom.
KIRBY: That's crazy!
CHARLIE: Whoa!
Here's how Lenz's law works.
The copper tube represents
the break plates on a roller
coaster track.
The super strong magnets
represent the magnets mounted
on roller coasters.
When the magnet with a
magnetic field travels
through the copper tubes,
it produces small
electric currents in the tube.
Those currents produce their
own magnetic field that repels
the magnetic field
of the magnet.
Slowing it down.
The result?
The roller coaster slows
down, nice and smooth.
Physics for the win!
Alright so we got the braking
system down, but I feel like
we need a huge input of energy
right off the bat to
go zooming down that
launch track.
MICHAEL: To explain
that, I'm gonna take
you to the pump room.
It's a lot easier.
KIRBY: Here we go.
CHARLIE: Michael,
this thing is huge!
MICHAEL: Right.
Yeah. Yeah, it is.
KIRBY: What's going on?
MICHAEL: So...because Kingda
Ka is different than a
traditional roller coaster,
it doesn't drag you to the top
of the hill and let you go.
It launches you.
Those pumps will push the
fluid into that long cylinder.
As the pumps push the fluid
into the cylinder, the
nitrogen compresses.
It's like a super soaker
that's, that's waiting for the
trigger to be pulled.
And when they launch the
train, a valve opens up and it
releases the fluid and it is
explosive, I mean it
comes out of there fast.
Alright guys,
that's enough talking.
I think it's time for
us to get on this ride.
KIRBY: Ei-yie-yie!
MICHAEL: You ready for this?
CHARLIE: Oh my go...
are you sure?
KIRBY: It's time. Let's go.
MICHAEL: Come on let's go.
CHARLIE: Oh!
KIRBY: Just breath.
Charles, breathe. Breathe.
CHARLIE: Guys, it's time to
conquer the Ka. Let's do it!
Ahhh! Oh man!
KIRBY: Ahhh!
(Screaming and cheering).
CHARLIE: Ohhhh!
KIRBY: It's over!
CHARLIE: ohhh!
Ho HO ohhh!
KIRBY: Bodies are shaking.
CHARLIE: Whoooooo!
We conquered the KAAAA!!!!!
KIRBY: Woo! We did it!
CHARLIE: Wooo! The world is
a blur when it goes past you.
KIRBY: You can't even think.
CHARLIE: You see nothing!
It's gone...the world is gone!
Alright, Weird but True guys,
on Kingda Ka riders experience
a moment of weightlessness.
I'm here to tell
ya...I felt it....
Thanks so much man
we had a blast today.
MICHAEL: Of course!
Glad you guys came,
it was awesome.
KIRBY: Thank you! It was so fun.
CHARLIE: Alright guys, we're
going to hop over to HQ,
but we'll see you
there in a few minutes.
See you soon.
KIRBY: Weird but True, the
world record for longest
marathon on a roller coaster
is 405 hours and 40 minutes,
that's almost 17 straight
days!
CHARLIE: Hey
guys welcome back!
KIRBY: I am so
fired up right now!
CHARLIE: We just rode the
tallest and fastest roller
coaster in North America!
KIRBY: Way to go
Charles, you didn't vomit.
CHARLIE:
Acclimation and conditioning.
I just had to get used to it.
You didn't seem scared at all.
KIRBY: Embrace the G-Forces.
You're not falling out
of those loop de loops.
CHARLIE: Well Kirb,
I got you something
to remember this day.
KIRBY: No way, I got
you something too...
CHARLIE: An official trophy
to prove you've gotten over
your coaster phobia.
KIRBY: An official trophy
to prove you've gotten over
your motion sickness.
CHARLIE: Hooray!
KIRBY: Hooray!
CHARLIE: What else
did we learn today?
There were so many
Weird but True things!
KIRBY: Roller coasters don't
have motors to propel them.
CHARLIE: The highest hill
on a roller coaster ride
is always the first one.
KIRBY: Magnets can slow a
roller coaster when they
come into contact with
non-ferrous metals
such as copper.
What's going on here Charles?
CHARLIE: Ah perfect
Kirb take these.
KIRBY: Okay...Why?
CHARLIE: So you know how we
mastered rollercoasters right?
I feel like it's time for
something a bit more extreme.
And fighter pilots experience
like 9 G's during flight.
KIRBY: Good! A little
bit of conditioning
before the real jets.
CHARLIE: You got it Kirb!
Ignition on!
Alright guys, thanks so
much for coming by today
but it looks like we've
got a new project on our hands.
KIRBY: Thanks for coming by!
CHARLIE: Come by again
when we discover more
things that are weird.
KIRBY: But true!
CHARLIE: We'll see you later!
Hit it Kirb! Ahhhhh!
Captioned by Cotter
Captioning Services.
Charlie here, you
know my sister Kirby!
KIRBY: Hey guys!
Today we're hanging out
in Jackson, New Jersey
at a theme park.
CHARLIE: Cause nothing gets us
more jacked up than talking
about science and experiencing
more G-forces than an
astronaut during take-off.
It's time for Weird But True!
(theme music plays).
Hey guys!
KIRBY: Hey!
CHARLIE: Alright we're glad
you're here cause Kirby and I
have a confession.
KIRBY: We have no
shame in admitting it.
CHARLIE: We're
generally open minded.
KIRBY: Fearless.
CHARLIE: Willing
to try new things.
KIRBY: But there's one
thing we just can't handle.
CHARLIE: Roller coasters.
KIRBY: Charles has a
pretty strong gut.
He can eat weird things.
Ride in a boat in the ocean.
And even fly in a helicopter!
No problem!
But for Charlie, a ride on a
roller coaster is a sure fire
way for him to end up
tossing his cookies...
If you know what I mean.
CHARLIE: And Kirby is
pretty all around fearless.
She can train huge
vicious birds of prey.
Handle all sorts
of scary insects.
And swim with sharks.
No problem.
But when it comes to
riding roller coasters.
She's filled with
absolute terror.
KIRBY: Ahhhh!!!
CHARLIE: Now it's time
for things to change!
KIRBY: I'm done being scared!
CHARLIE: I'm tired
of getting sick!
So today we're
unraveling the world of...
KIRBY: Rollercoasters!
CHARLIE: Alright guys,
let's get to know what
we're working with here.
KIRBY: Rollercoasters.
They come in a bunch of
different varieties to please
every sort of coaster lover.
CHARLIE: Or coaster phobic.
KIRBY: Or coaster
thrower upper.
CHARLIE: Let's check them out.
Good morning Madam welcome
to the Roller Coaster Café,
my name is Charlie.
How may I help you today?
KIRBY: Um do you
have any suggestions?
CHARLIE: For first
timers I would suggest
a wooden roller coaster.
Oh simply a classic.
KIRBY: Hmmm, what kind of
steel coasters do you have?
CHARLIE: We offer a variety of
specials today including the
inverted roller coaster,
the flying roller coaster, and
the fourth dimension roller
coaster where riders on either
side of the track,
and their seats whip
around on their own axis.
KIRBY: Hmmmm
nothing's catching my eye.
Roller coasters
kind of freak me out.
CHARLIE: No worries
madame they make me
sick to my stomach.
KIRBY: So many different
roller coasters to avoid.
CHARLIE: So many
different ways to throw up!
KIRBY: Until now!
So I did some research, and
I found out that you, my
friend, get motion sickness.
CHARLIE: Yeah that
sounds about right.
KIRBY: So scientists aren't
really sure why people get
motion sickness,
but the current accepted
explanation is the Sensory
Conflict Theory.
Alright, here's the deal.
Your brain uses a bunch of
different things to keep track
of your environment.
And the two big ones are the
vestibular system in your
ear which keeps track of your
body's movement.
And your vision which is a
bit more self-explanatory.
And the two, most of the time,
work quite nicely together.
When I look up I see the sky.
When I look down
I see the ground.
But in very
unfamiliar situations.
Like on a roller coaster,
you might get some
conflicting information.
And when there's a conflict
between those signals your
brain gets confused,
so the natural response for
people like Charlie is the
complete expulsion of one's
stomach contents, aka
launching the food shuttle,
aka blowing your beets,
aka tossing your tacos but,
there's a potential solution.
It was developed during the
training of US Navy Fliers:
conditioning.
95% of aviator trainees got
over motion sickness by
familiarizing themselves with
the speed and the
motion of the jets.
And then flying over and
over and over until they
knew what to expect.
So Charles.
If we're going to nip
this in the bud, there's
only one place to go...
A theme park!
We hopped over to
Jackson, New Jersey.
This is the place to tackle
our fear of coasters because
it's home to the tallest and
fastest roller
coaster in North America.
Kingda Ka.
CHARLIE: Weird but True guys,
Kingda Ka is 456 feet tall.
That's like if you took
three statues of liberties
and stacked them
right on top of each other.
Super tall!
Ugh I don't know Kirb...
KIRBY: What's up?
CHARLIE: I think we bit
off a little more than
we can chew here.
KIRBY: You good?
CHARLIE: I'm feeling...
KIRBY: Uh-oh.
CHARLIE: Feeling a little...
KIRBY: It's ok Charles,
let's snap back to headquarters
for a deep breath.
CHARLIE: Oh boy!
KIRBY: Alright
Charles deep breaths.
I know the park is gonna
take some getting used to.
So we're gonna be hopping
back and forth all day
to really ease into it.
CHARLIE: I don't know
about this Kirb.
KIRBY: Don't worry I got you.
We're gonna help you
master the movement and
motion of roller coasters
just like the US Navy Fliers
and their jets, so that
when you do finally ride,
you'll know what to expect.
And I'm gonna break it down
into a language that you
understand...Physics.
CHARLIE: Naturally.
KIRBY: Understand the physics.
Understand the movement.
CHARLIE: Food will
remain inside my body.
KIRBY: You got it, why don't
you help me kick things off
back at the park.
We got a Weird but
True fact for you.
All roller coasters
don't have motors.
They don't even have engines
propelling 'em forward.
CHARLIE: They don't need 'em,
but they can still run because
they're all based on one
simple physics principal.
The law of
conservation of energy.
KIRBY: Here's how the
rollercoaster system works.
The whole system has a
certain amount of energy.
Throughout the ride, some
energy is lost to things like
friction and air resistance.
The energy that is in the
system at any one time,
is in two forms:
Kinetic energy,
the energy of speed,
and Potential Energy,
the energy of height.
The faster something moves the
more kinetic energy it has.
The higher something is
off the ground the more
potential energy it has.
CHARLIE: So a super key part
of the roller coaster system
is that initial input of
energy that the roller
coaster uses up over
the course of the ride.
So there are two ways
of doing this in the
roller coaster world.
Classic roller coasters have
massive hills that lifts
drag them all the
way up to the top.
KIRBY: As the chain lift drags
the roller coaster up the hill
it's adding potential energy
into the system that the
coaster uses up throughout the
ride on the way back down.
CHARLIE: More modern roller
coasters don't use lifts.
They have launch tracks.
KIRBY: The launch tracks speed
up the cars really quickly,
adding a bunch of kinetic
energy into the system right
off the bat to make it fast.
After launch, the system
has stored enough energy
to last throughout
the entire ride.
And it's converted between
the two main forms:
Potential and Kinetic.
CHARLIE: This is also why, if
you check it out, the tallest
hill on the rollercoaster is
always gonna be the
first that you go over.
Because the system is
constantly losing energy, in
order for it all to work every
other hill has to be
shorter than the first.
KIRBY: Now you're
getting it, Charlie.
A track like this will work.
Because even though it's
losing energy, the roller
coaster car has enough to
travel over those hills.
But a track like this will not
work, because the car doesn't
have enough energy to climb
higher than the
point where it starts.
CHARLIE: So here's a great
example of it all in action.
El Toro, the wooden
coaster behind us.
So first the system has no
energy when it's at rest
during the boarding process.
KIRBY: And then, when the
coaster is brought over that
first hill by its lift system,
that lift system is bringing
energy to the whole thing.
CHARLIE: At the top of the
first hill it's at its maximum
potential energy.
And that's converted from
potential to kinetic as it
goes down speeding up,
and slowing down,
up and down hills.
KIRBY: And throughout the
entire ride, the system is
losing energy because of
air resistance and friction.
And the whole thing eventually
comes to a slow stop.
CHARLIE: And the rides over!
Its roller coaster physics...
ANNOUNCER: Welcome back
riders. How was your ride?
KIRBY: How ya feelin bud?
CHARLIE: I am
feeling VERY prepared!
KIRBY: You know
what that means!
It's game time.
Just like the US
Aviator Trainee.
We just gotta jump right in.
CHARLIE: Let's do it!
Now that I understand the
physics better, I want to put
my stomach to the test!
Wooo! Here goes
nothin'! Oh buddy!
(screams).
Whoa! Oh!
I barely kept it
together on that ride!
Oh! Wooo!
MAN: You alright?
CHARLIE: Maybe I
should do it again.
Oh my god!
Wooo!
(screams).
Wasn't so bad the second time.
Let's see how I do on another.
Woo!
And another, and another!
(screams).
When will it end?
Oh my gosh!
KIRBY: You okay?
CHARLIE: That was great.
KIRBY: No throwing up?
CHARLIE: No throwing up!
KIRBY: Way to go man!
I knew you'd conquer
your motion sickness!
CHARLIE: Alright guys we've
gotta take a quick break, but
when we come back.
It's time for Kirby to
tackle the roller coasters.
KIRBY: Wait, what?!
Weird but True, a roller
coaster in the United Arab
Emirates can reach
149 miles an hour!
CHARLIE: What's up guys
welcome back, today Kirby and
I are helping each other treat
our roller coaster
related ailments.
I just got over my
motion sickness.
So now, I'm good to go.
KIRBY: That's great Charles,
but I still have an issue.
CHARLIE: Oh yes,
Kirby so tell me...
What scares you specifically
about roller coasters?
KIRBY: Oh, everything.
CHARLIE: Could you be
a bit more specific?
KIRBY: Sure.
Well I'm going about a million
miles an hour and I'm in a
metal box on a track made of
sticks and I don't know the
last time the thing has been
inspected...
CHARLIE: Hmm
KIRBY: Or If I'm going
to hit a bird, or if
it's going to break down.
Loop-de-loops make no
logical sense to me,
I'm sure to fall out.
And the worst part is, at the
tops of hills it feel like I'm
going to fly out of my seat.
At the bottom of hills,
I feel like my heart is
being crushed by my chest.
CHARLIE: Well Kirby,
it looks like there's
a lot to unravel here.
KIRBY: We got a
lot to unravel.
CHARLIE: Let's
start with the basics.
Roller coaster safety is not
something that you should
spend too much time
worrying about.
Before anyone gets on one of
these things, safety experts
have to check off a long list
of standards from a
variety of organizations
with fancy names.
And Kirby, these people,
they check for everything.
They perform
accelerometer tests,
check slope height limits,
and perform daily inspections.
And on top of that,
every ride is tested
multiple times a day.
Maintenance personnel
literally walk along the track
looking for anything that
might be wrong.
KIRBY: Okay, okay, okay, I
guess that's not something I
should be too worried about,
but what about the whole
loop-de-loop, and flying out
of my seat thing?
CHARLIE: That's
also not an issue.
I'll tell you what I
mean back at the park.
All of the forces we
experience on roller coasters,
that press us back into our
chairs or lift us up in the
air, they're forces we
experience due to the
acceleration of our bodies.
Another name for
them is G-forces.
That's what you're
feeling, Kirby. G-forces.
KIRBY: Well G-forces
scare the heck out of me.
CHARLIE: To understand
G-forces, we need to
understand Inertia.
Cool science word! Inertia!
Inertia's the idea that an
object tends to resist any
change in motion unless
another force acts upon it.
Imagine you're flying down
a hill on a roller coaster.
At the bottom of the hill, the
roller coaster follows the
tracks and goes straight.
But your body's inertia wants
to keep heading in that
downward direction.
The result?
The body presses
hard against that seat.
Those forces pressing
you against your seat?
Those are positive G-forces.
During everyday
moments we live at 1 G.
But on roller coasters we
might experience moments
of 2 or 3 G's.
And our bodies feel
a lot heavier, too.
If you weigh 100 pounds at 1
G, at 3 G's your body will
feel like it weighs 300 lbs.
So it's much harder to raise
our arms and move around.
So at the bottom of the hills
we feel like we're being
pressed into our seats,
but at the top of the
hills the opposite happens.
Our bodies wanna keep going
upward, but the roller coaster
isn't going upward anymore.
So the G-forces are pulling us
up from our seats this time.
Those forces lifting
us off our seats are
negative G forces,
but they're very helpful.
G forces and inertia are the
very reasons why we don't have
to worry about falling out of
our seats on loop de loops.
While riding a loop de loop,
we're constantly experiencing
a G force that's pressing us
into our seats,
throughout the whole loop.
According to physics, it's
practically impossible to fall
out of one of these bad boys.
Let's try a little role
reversal here Kirby and
you explain it to me
back at the park.
KIRBY: OK, as long as I'm
not the one on the coaster.
So as Charlie rides this ride
right here, he experiences
positive G's when he's going
up those hills being pressed
into the back of his seat.
When he's zooming down the hill,
he experiences negative G's
which are moments
of weightlessness.
Positive G's, negative G's.
CHARLIE: Yeah,
Kirb, you did it!
Oh, um, sorry, yes,
so, um, wonderful job.
KIRBY: I mean, I know
these things aren't
gonna break down.
And that my risk of
injury is pretty small,
and that I'm not gonna
go flying out of my
seat on a loop-de-loop.
So I feel like I'm
ready to give it a go.
CHARLIE: To prove you are
finally cured of your roller
coaster ailments,
you must finally ride
a roller coaster.
KIRBY: Okay. Let's do this!
We're walking up to the
Harley Quinn crazy train!
It's tiny but mighty.
It's weird, it's true,
it's roller coaster physics!
Whooooo!
Best physics class ever!
We're going again!
Positive G's right now!
Here we go, here we go!
Negative G's! Whooooo!
Whooooo!
So excellent, so many Gs.
CHARLIE: Kirb
couldn't take it...
KIRBY: I can't take it
CHARLIE: You had to
go for the Harley Quinn.
KIRBY: Don't you be
talking smack. The Harley
Quinn was serious.
CHARLIE: Victory to
Charlie right here.
KIRBY: No way,
victory to the Kirb.
Time to try a
coaster together.
(Screaming and cheering).
Small but mighty.
CHARLIE Hey, it
looks like we're cured!
We can ride anything!
Anything...?
There she is Kirb!
KIRBY: I don't know...
CHARLIE: We can't claim
victory over our fears until
we take the ultimate ride.
Kingda Ka...
KIRBY: Whoa.
Weird but True, an early
version of the roller coaster,
was built out of ice!
CHARLIE: Kingda Ka....
Aw she's incredible.
MICHAEL: Why thank you.
CHARLIE: Who are you?
MICHAEL: I'm Michael,
I'm one of the engineers.
KIRBY: You helped
make this beast?
MICHAEL: I along with
a few other people.
Ah, you guys look
a little nervous.
CHARLIE: What are you talking
about we're not nervous!
MICHAEL: You're nervous...
CHARLIE: Yeah...
MICHAEL: But I can help
with that...I'll show
you some things, come on.
CHARLIE: Alright.
KIRBY: This guy's got
the coolest job ever.
Michael's an engineer
that designs and builds
rollercoasters.
His favorite Weird but True
fact, the first roller coaster
to go upside down
was designed in 1840!
CHARLIE: Describe the
situation, what are we
looking at right now?
MICHAEL: Alright, so
this train is coming
out of the station.
CHARLIE: Yeah.
MICHAEL: It is going to
the launch position.
And when it stops,
it connects up to what
we call the catch car.
KIRBY: Okay.
CHARLIE: Okay.
MICHAEL: And that catch car
will push the train right down
that track, 0 to 128
miles an hour in 3.5 seconds.
KIRBY: Right.
MICHAEL: Here it comes.
CHARLIE: Ohhh!
MICHAEL: And in 10 seconds
you are all the way at the
top, 456 feet.
And then it's pure free fall
as you come down, and then you
come up over this big hill
right here and you hit a bunch
of brakes that you'll see up
on the top of the hill coming
down, that takes out
all of the energy.
CHARLIE: Looking at this,
my heart is in my throat.
I'm like genuinely kind
of...freaking out right now.
MICHAEL: That makes me happy.
Like I love when people
are scared to get on a
ride but then they,
they still get on anyway.
CHARLIE: What can you
tell us to make us feel
better about this?
MICHAEL: I can show
you how it all works.
First of all the ride is
controlled by a programmable
logic controller,
PLC is what we call those.
And the PLCs monitor
everything that's going on in
the ride at once.
Any time it senses that
there's a problem or there's
something fails to function
the way it should, it shuts
the ride down in a safe mode.
CHARLIE: So for a ride as
tall as Kingda Ka, you're
building up a lot of energy
but it stops so quickly.
How does that happen?
MICHAEL: Kingda Ka utilizes
a principle in physics
called Lenz's Law.
And it involves magnetic fields
and non-ferrous materials.
CHARLIE: Cool science
word, non-ferrous metals.
They're metals that can't be
magnetized, like stainless
steel, copper, and aluminum.
MICHAEL: So to give you an
example, I brought along
a little copper tube,
and here in my back
pocket I have super
high-strength magnets.
Now, if I just drop these
magnets they fall,
just like anything else
does because of gravity.
CHARLIE: Yeah.
MICHAEL: However, if
I drop these magnets
inside this tube...
KIRBY: What?!
MICHAEL: There, it
comes out the bottom.
KIRBY: That's crazy!
CHARLIE: Whoa!
Here's how Lenz's law works.
The copper tube represents
the break plates on a roller
coaster track.
The super strong magnets
represent the magnets mounted
on roller coasters.
When the magnet with a
magnetic field travels
through the copper tubes,
it produces small
electric currents in the tube.
Those currents produce their
own magnetic field that repels
the magnetic field
of the magnet.
Slowing it down.
The result?
The roller coaster slows
down, nice and smooth.
Physics for the win!
Alright so we got the braking
system down, but I feel like
we need a huge input of energy
right off the bat to
go zooming down that
launch track.
MICHAEL: To explain
that, I'm gonna take
you to the pump room.
It's a lot easier.
KIRBY: Here we go.
CHARLIE: Michael,
this thing is huge!
MICHAEL: Right.
Yeah. Yeah, it is.
KIRBY: What's going on?
MICHAEL: So...because Kingda
Ka is different than a
traditional roller coaster,
it doesn't drag you to the top
of the hill and let you go.
It launches you.
Those pumps will push the
fluid into that long cylinder.
As the pumps push the fluid
into the cylinder, the
nitrogen compresses.
It's like a super soaker
that's, that's waiting for the
trigger to be pulled.
And when they launch the
train, a valve opens up and it
releases the fluid and it is
explosive, I mean it
comes out of there fast.
Alright guys,
that's enough talking.
I think it's time for
us to get on this ride.
KIRBY: Ei-yie-yie!
MICHAEL: You ready for this?
CHARLIE: Oh my go...
are you sure?
KIRBY: It's time. Let's go.
MICHAEL: Come on let's go.
CHARLIE: Oh!
KIRBY: Just breath.
Charles, breathe. Breathe.
CHARLIE: Guys, it's time to
conquer the Ka. Let's do it!
Ahhh! Oh man!
KIRBY: Ahhh!
(Screaming and cheering).
CHARLIE: Ohhhh!
KIRBY: It's over!
CHARLIE: ohhh!
Ho HO ohhh!
KIRBY: Bodies are shaking.
CHARLIE: Whoooooo!
We conquered the KAAAA!!!!!
KIRBY: Woo! We did it!
CHARLIE: Wooo! The world is
a blur when it goes past you.
KIRBY: You can't even think.
CHARLIE: You see nothing!
It's gone...the world is gone!
Alright, Weird but True guys,
on Kingda Ka riders experience
a moment of weightlessness.
I'm here to tell
ya...I felt it....
Thanks so much man
we had a blast today.
MICHAEL: Of course!
Glad you guys came,
it was awesome.
KIRBY: Thank you! It was so fun.
CHARLIE: Alright guys, we're
going to hop over to HQ,
but we'll see you
there in a few minutes.
See you soon.
KIRBY: Weird but True, the
world record for longest
marathon on a roller coaster
is 405 hours and 40 minutes,
that's almost 17 straight
days!
CHARLIE: Hey
guys welcome back!
KIRBY: I am so
fired up right now!
CHARLIE: We just rode the
tallest and fastest roller
coaster in North America!
KIRBY: Way to go
Charles, you didn't vomit.
CHARLIE:
Acclimation and conditioning.
I just had to get used to it.
You didn't seem scared at all.
KIRBY: Embrace the G-Forces.
You're not falling out
of those loop de loops.
CHARLIE: Well Kirb,
I got you something
to remember this day.
KIRBY: No way, I got
you something too...
CHARLIE: An official trophy
to prove you've gotten over
your coaster phobia.
KIRBY: An official trophy
to prove you've gotten over
your motion sickness.
CHARLIE: Hooray!
KIRBY: Hooray!
CHARLIE: What else
did we learn today?
There were so many
Weird but True things!
KIRBY: Roller coasters don't
have motors to propel them.
CHARLIE: The highest hill
on a roller coaster ride
is always the first one.
KIRBY: Magnets can slow a
roller coaster when they
come into contact with
non-ferrous metals
such as copper.
What's going on here Charles?
CHARLIE: Ah perfect
Kirb take these.
KIRBY: Okay...Why?
CHARLIE: So you know how we
mastered rollercoasters right?
I feel like it's time for
something a bit more extreme.
And fighter pilots experience
like 9 G's during flight.
KIRBY: Good! A little
bit of conditioning
before the real jets.
CHARLIE: You got it Kirb!
Ignition on!
Alright guys, thanks so
much for coming by today
but it looks like we've
got a new project on our hands.
KIRBY: Thanks for coming by!
CHARLIE: Come by again
when we discover more
things that are weird.
KIRBY: But true!
CHARLIE: We'll see you later!
Hit it Kirb! Ahhhhh!
Captioned by Cotter
Captioning Services.