Seriously, what keeps us from flying out of Splash Mountain?

[Caramel]

I've thought about this for years. No seat belts, no restraints of any kind. We LOVE Splash Mountain, and I know it's on a track. But really, when we're dropping down that steep last chute, can someone with a physics background explain to me why some of us don't just fly out of those logs? There must be something going on with force, gravity, I don't know, that keeps us in?

 

[flightdave82]

I'm no physicas major at all. In fact so many others would know more than me but I can just say that the ride (even with it's big drop) does not fall fast enough along with the angle of the slope of the flum (way less than 90deg) to make you to fall out of your seat. The weight of every passenger with the angle and speed of decent does not surpass gravity.

Just my .2 uneducated cents lol

 

[Rubygoose]

My sunglasses flew off my head on the last drop (they were on my head like a hairband, not on my eyes.) I was in the back seat, and found them behind me, luckily. So, I guess if you're as light as a pair of sunglasses, you should be concerned, but otherwise, your weight is enough to keep you in your seat. Seems like there should be a weight requirement, rather than a height requirement. But then no one would want to ride it if there was a scale at the entrance of the ride!

 

[mikedoyleblogger]

Gravity is a constant (for our purposes here, anyway), so things fall at the same rate of speed. Because you and the log are both going downhill at the same speed, neither one of you can get ahead of the other. You can't leave the log behind and the log can't leave you behind. That keeps you falling together.

It's really also what keeps your bottom in the seat. You and the log are both already "falling" together towards the center of the earth, so to speak, due to gravity. That force is stronger than the force of you and the log going down the hill.

This would be different if the drop had a force greater than gravity (for example, if you were on a launch coaster), or if the log was already going fast as it was going over the drop (in which case inertia would keep your body moving forward a bit as the log dropped away unless there was some sort of restraint holding you in--that's how air time works on a roller coaster.)

Then again, since it's Disneyland, I'd prefer just to go with "magic".

 

[alvernon90]

The thing that makes hats and glasses go flying is air resistance. People are too heavy for the wind to make a difference, but the breeze will make lighter objects blow away. If Splash Mountain was on the moon, the log, your body, and your hat would all fall at exactly the same speed.

 

[DarthMole]

Haha. I was wondering the same thing the first time I went up that assent to the top of the mountain holding on to the hand rails for dear life. I don't like drops but said "I'm doing this". The picture was not pretty at the end. Anyway, after coming to my senses I recalled Physics 101 or whatever it was called and the concepts mentioned in the last couple posts is what I came up with too. There would have to be an additional force to separate you from the ride vehicle. If you notice, all the drops are straight and start at almost no speed on that ride. That's why they don't need belts.

Darn it, I want to ride it right now.

 

[chrisgeraci]

Just what I was thinking, want to ride, is it reopened yet? The lapbars seems sufficient. I do wish there was a good loop like Screamin, how awesome would that be!

 

[lana772]

Just what I was thinking, want to ride, is it reopened yet? The lapbars seems sufficient. I do wish there was a good loop like Screamin, how awesome would that be!

Ummm... confused .... no lapbars and no loops please.

I'm pretty sure the force that kept my DD( all 30 lbs of her) in it the first time was the death grip my arms had on her.

Lana

 

[DarthMole]

Just what I was thinking, want to ride, is it reopened yet? The lapbars seems sufficient. I do wish there was a good loop like Screamin, how awesome would that be!

You must be thinking of Space Mountain. The OP was asking about Splash Mountain which has no restraint at all.

 

[bcla]

What makes you jump out of your seat on a roller coaster is humps, and there are generally none on a flume ride. There might be a little feeling of weightlessness as you approach the top of the ascent and get dropped into a flume, but that's minimal.

The other thing is that the boat itself isn't actually free-falling while you are to some degree. Any object sliding/rolling along an inclined plane is facing an upward force from the incline. You're accelerating with gravity. You always are but sitting down on a motionless chair you're countered with an equal force from the chair. In a dropping boat your downward acceleration is more than that of the boat.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inclined_plane

The only serious incidents I've heard of with log rides were when there was no water on the descent and the boat flipped. As long as the ride is operating properly, the passenger will stay in the seat.

 

[undertheseas]

I'm pretty sure the force that kept my DD( all 30 lbs of her) in it the first time was the death grip my arms had on her.

I'm pretty sure that's all that kept my son in when he was three and I plan on doing the same thing for DD in June!

 

[carisa81]

This is a funny question. I've always wondered the same thing. I'm scared to bring my daughter or son on because of them falling out. Still scared of that.

 

[KristinRiess]

Ummm... confused .... no lapbars and no loops please.

I'm pretty sure the force that kept my DD( all 30 lbs of her) in it the first time was the death grip my arms had on her.

Lana

I had no idea splash mountain had no restraints (I totally chickened out as a kid in WDW so I've never been on it) and I'm sure if my husband gets me on it when we go that is what will be keeping my son in his seat.

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

I had no idea splash mountain had no restraints (I totally chickened out as a kid in WDW so I've never been on it) and I'm sure if my husband gets me on it when we go that is what will be keeping my son in his seat.

In WDW there are lap bars. In DLR, nothing.

 

[lsulindy]

In WDW there are lap bars. In DLR, nothing.

And those lap bars are there due to people choosing to stand up and/or climb out of the log, not from a risk of seated people falling out.

 

[lilpooh108]

Gravity is a constant (for our purposes here, anyway), so things fall at the same rate of speed. Because you and the log are both going downhill at the same speed, neither one of you can get ahead of the other. You can't leave the log behind and the log can't leave you behind. That keeps you falling together.

I literally got a flashback of that Einstein cartoon video from "College Prep" Phy Sci class in high school. My friends all mocked me as they went on to AP. But I got the last laugh as my class was easier and I didn't need the credit for my college major anyway And all we did was watch those Einstein cartoons all day.

 

[Thundergod]

the angle of the drop is also a lot less than you think.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NzLjxn54pg

 

[tdhickey]

Gravity does this, like previously mentioned you fall when the log falls at the essentially the same rate. The height requirement is the safety for when you hit the bottom and slow down fast, smaller kids can be injured by that.

 

[jory29]

The logic sounds similar to: "If you throw a ball in the air when in a moving bus, will it land in your hand, from where you threw it up into the air, or will it land behind you, since the bus is moving forward?" Almost everyone in my junior high science class assumed it would move behind, from the motion of the bus. The teacher had a hard time explaining it to us. I guess it's what keeps people on airplanes staying 'put' and not flying around to the back row once the plane is in motion.

It is a good question, OP. Great explanations on this thread - but here's another question - what happens if the person really almost halfway sits up and leans forward? Does them being IN the log, even though it is not enclosed, mean they are IN the log? If I sit on top of a bus when it's moving, am I still considered to be part of the bus?

 

[thomaslw]

It is a good question, OP. Great explanations on this thread - but here's another question - what happens if the person really almost halfway sits up and leans forward? Does them being IN the log, even though it is not enclosed, mean they are IN the log? If I sit on top of a bus when it's moving, am I still considered to be part of the bus?

Yes your frame of reference is still aligned with the bus. This BTW if you ever study modern physics this is a critical component of the theory of relativity. Anyways for your question, if you sit on top of a bus you are still "part of the bus". Now, there is a massive air drag against you though since you do not have the bus to protect you from the air. This air drag would feel like a fast wind against your body, similar to when you put your hand out the window of a moving car.

Likewise, if a person sits up they are still part of the log, but they increase the air resistance on their body. You wouldn't "fly out" of the log, but you likely would lose your balance and could fall off it.