VCE Physics Excursion - Luna Park
On Thursday March 9, all of the Unit 3/4 Physics students got a day to enjoy Luna Park! It was a week before our first SAC, so it was a perfect way to allow us to have some fun and witness how the Physics we had been learning applied in real life. Rather than just study Newton’s laws of motion we got to live them!
You wouldn’t think it, but the Unit 3/4 Physics classes are filled with adrenaline junkies. So, at the start of the day, we were really excited to get into Luna Park. As we stepped inside, roller coasters thundered past us, carriages swung, spun, shook sideways, upside-down and all over the place. We all knew it was going to be the best day. Here are some best rides:
The Spider: Spinning pods that moved up and down, and as you turned around bends, it would spin so fast that you would lose all sense of direction. Rumours say that if you leaned into the side of your pod, you could really feel the surge of that centripetal force that pulls towards the centre. But that’s only if you were looking for a bit more fun.
The Enterprise: There’s no seatbelts! The ride spun faster and faster until we were nearly vertical. We fiercely gripped onto the metal bars thinking “How come I’m not falling off?”. The simple answer was that the ride travelled with enough speed so that the passengers experience a centripetal force that keeps them stuck to their seat, even when they feel weightless.
The Pharaoh’s Curse: Even the name is enough to send people fleeing towards the exit. Carriages that swung forwards and backwards like a massive pendulum. We found ourselves hanging upside down at the very top, but did we fall? No. In fact, since our centripetal force was overcoming gravity, we just kept swinging around. Phew!
At the end of the day many of us felt more prepared for our SAC, having experienced the physics behind many of our favourite rides. Overall, the day was both fun and a great learning experience. The next time you go into Luna Park, and you’re spinning around, screaming like your lungs out, try to reassure yourself that Physics will keep you safe. It helps!
Chloe and Jenevieve