When you’re upside down at the top of a vertical looping roller coaster, why is the centripetal force acting on you the least of anywhere in the loop?
In: Physics
Because you’re speed is the slowest at that point and the force of gravity is cancelling out one g of centrifugal/centripetal force.
But… in good rollercoaster design this doesn’t happen. Rollercoasters are rarely/never designed with constant curvature, they’re actually a teardrop shape, with more gradual slopes at the beginning and end of the loop. The varying curvature is designed to keep the centripetal forces on you approximately equal for the entire trip through the loop. Without this the g forces at the start and end would be enormous, or the rollercoaster would have difficulty in getting around the loop, neither make a good ride experience.
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