Valravn: The New Record Breaking Rollercoaster

The Valravn: 

The New Record Breaking Rollercoaster Located in Cedar Point  

The video below is a POV ride on a the Valravn, anew Rollercoaster from Cedar Point.

(The Article was posted in May of 2016 so the records may not still be standing:

http://scienceworld.scholastic.com/Physics-News/2016/05/Hair-Raising-Ride and https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/shriek-science-simple-physics-powers-extreme-roller-coasters/) 

Cedar Point, which is located in Sandusky Ohio, has always been famous for is extreme rollercoasters. This rollercoaster in one of the longest, fastest, and highest rollercoasters in existence. The track reaches a high point of 20 stories and plunges at a speed of 75 miles per hour into a giant loop. The rider drop 20 stories down at a 90 degree angle.  The ride has more than just one drop. It also has several smaller drops, two inversions, and another big drop from approximately 13 stories high. The full duration of the ride last a little less then 3 minutes.The giant drop from a high of approximately 20 stories high is essential to create the the potential gravitational energy so the cart can make it though the entire track.  The potential energy is quickly transformed into kinetic energy as it plunges into motion.  The height and angle of decent for a rollercoaster is very important for the rest of the ride.  The initial drop is a huge determinate in  the speed speed of the coaster,  the longer the drop, the more acceleration due to gravity. Kevin Hickerson, a physicist at the California Institute of Technology, was quoted from an article saying “All the energy a rollercoaster gets comes from the initial point it’s cranked up to, and from there it just gains more and more kinetic energy.”.

Today, there are other ways to intensify speed without gigantic drops. Once popular way is by electromagnetic propulsion, catapulted, from its starting point. Cars on these launched coasters have the potential to go from zero to nearly 130 kilometers per hour in about two seconds. Another big advancement in rollercoaster was the steel-frame. Steel-framer rollercoaster, first created in 1959, has made it much easier to increase the height of rollercoasters. Steel-framers are much lighter and easier to build up, making the rollercoasters of today much more thrilling. These are much easier to build because they require less dense support beams. Another reason steel coaster are often enjoyed by more people is they lose much less energy due to friction, this is why steel coaster are faster and much less bumpy then there wooden counterparts.


Many engineers agree that rollercoaster have not been built to their full potential. Planes, trains, subways, etc reach much higher speeds. From a physics standpoint, the rollercoaster's cars would be able to reach their peak speeds in seconds, but reaching speeds this high can be deadly. This is why rollercoaster have and will probably not reach extreme g-force levels. Leland Stone, a scientist with NASA’s Human Systems Integration Division said “With no training, one can typically tolerate two to three g’s [in this direction] for many seconds without any consequence.”. However if a coaster's  acceleration becomes too great, it may stop the blood flow to the eyes and head. Engineers need to use this information to determine how to build each rollercoaster. Riders on some of the most extreme coasters can experience up to 6.5 g’s, which is more than astronauts experience on liftoff and more than NASCAR drivers feel while tearing around the track. However, this does not mean that people who often ride rollercoaster have experienced more g's then an astronaut. While rollercoasters may have a high of 6.5 g this does not happen for a long time. For a comparison a person on a rollercoaster will experience this for about a second, astronauts will experience it for a duration of minutes.

After watching the POV video you may notice that this coaster may seem longer, fastest, and higher than most rollercoaster that you have been on. This is because this rollercoaster has shattered may coaster records. The roller coast has a high point of 223 feet, making it the highest dive coaster in the world. It is also the fastest dive coaster, the longest dive coaster, and the dive coaster with the most inversions.