Roller coaster

A ride that sends cars along a track through changes in speed, direction, and elevation. Its motion is driven mainly by gravity after cars are lifted or launched.

Chain lift hill: A mechanism that pulls a roller-coaster train up an incline using a moving chain. It stores gravitational potential energy before a traditional coaster's descent.
Potential energy: Energy stored because of an object's position or configuration. A lift hill raises the train, storing energy for its descent.
Wooden roller coaster: A roller coaster whose principal track structure is made from wood. Its flexible structure and traditional track profile produce a distinctive ride style.
Russian Mountains: Historic winter slides in Russia that inspired early European gravity rides. These slides are among the predecessors of the roller coaster.
Amusement park: A venue containing rides, attractions, and entertainment, often organized around a leisure destination. Roller coasters became signature attractions that helped define amusement parks.
Launch coaster: A roller coaster accelerated from a start by a propulsion system rather than a conventional lift hill. Launch systems provide an alternative way to give the train its initial speed.
Kinetic energy: Energy an object has because of its motion. The train's speed rises as gravitational potential energy becomes kinetic energy.
Steel roller coaster: A roller coaster built with steel track, allowing a wide range of shapes and inversions. Steel construction enables track forms that are difficult to make with timber.
Promenades-Aériennes: An early roller coaster attraction opened in Paris in 1817, with cars traveling down inclined tracks. It helped transform the idea of a gravity slide into a commercial ride.
Coney Island: A Brooklyn seaside district known for amusement parks and popular entertainment. Its early coaster attractions helped establish the ride as mass entertainment.

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