Ferris Wheel Physics

Children and adults love theme parks. There are different kinds of rides in theme parks. The rides give so much fun with their spins and speed because of the forces your body experiences when you are on them. It’s quite different from what we experience on a daily basis. Why do people visit them often, even though they are scary? It is because of having your body pushed and pulled in different directions, which makes people come back for more. The most popular rides in the world are roller coasters and ferris wheels.

As roller coasters are scarier than ferris wheels, adults tend to prefer going on a ferris wheel. Both are frightening if you are scared of high places, though, but do you wonder how a ferris wheel works? We can explain everything in a theme park with physics. What are the physics of a ferris wheel? Firstly, a ferris wheel has got an upright wheel with passenger gondolas (seats). These gondolas can freely move forwards and backwards and they are connected to the ferris wheel.

As a result, the gondolas always hang downwards at all times while the ferris wheel spins. Secondly, when we are on it, we feel forces because of gravity and speed.

Gravity causes force on us, so it makes us feel heavier. When we are on top of the wheel, we feel lighter because there is less gravity. We can only feel our true weight in the middle of the wheel. In short, we feel lighter at the top, but heavier at the bottom.