Top Thrill Dragster

     The Top Thrill Dragster in Cedar Point, OH is one of the fastest and tallest roller coasters in the world. The complexity and ingenuity that went into this coaster is something that the engineers are extremely proud of. From the 1,300 blueprints to the 5,400 bolts that went into making this roller coaster, the Top Thrill Dragster was noting but an easy task. Below is a photo of construction workers building this massive roller coaster.

     The engineering that went into this ride is revolutionary to the world of roller coasters and is something that will be used in many rides in the future. These engineers had to figure out a way to accelerate riders 0mph to 120mph in 3.8 seconds. To do this, they thought of a hydraulic system to act as a sling-shot in order to reach these high speeds. The hydraulic system works by pumping oil into nitrogen filled tanks. The nitrogen compresses and acts like a spring, sling-shotting the cart while the hydrogen oils acts like potential energy. On the other hand, stopping the zooming carts was a hard task to achieve. Engineers used magnets as a stopping mechanism for this ride. As the cart descends, it triggers sensors in the tracks which raise magnets and allows the cart to stop. These were only a few major engineering concepts that went into the building of this ride, many more tricky and complex designs were used during building. The crazy and wild ingenuity or this ride makes for one of the most thrilling rides in the world. Below is a point of view video to getan idea of what this 10 second ride feels like. 

Sources: Official Top Thrill Dragster POV in HD
The Coaster with the Moster

Blog by Brooks Beattie