Why do rollercoasters feel so fast, even if they’re going slower than we would normally drive?

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I live near Six Flags Over Georgia and used to visit occasionally. With a few exceptions, their coasters generally don’t get above 60 mph. Mindbender, for example, tops out at 50mph, but feels so ridiculously fast when you’re riding it. In a car on the highway, though, going 50 doesn’t feel like much of an event at all.

Why is this?

In: Physics

8 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

You can have the same feeling as in rollercoaster if you are on a highway on-ramp, in a car without suspensions, without a windshield and with a big engine. This way you’ll get the same acceleration feeling and the same wind force.

A car is purposefully made to not make you feel the forces the way a rollercoaster does. It would be insanely tiring to drive any distance if rollercoaster forces were applied to you the whole way.

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