Design and Operation
The ride is completely enclosed, with 48 padded panels lining the inside wall. Riders lean against these panels, which are angled back. As the ride rotates, centripetal force is exerted against the pads by the rider, removing the rider from the floor, due to the slant. The ride can reach a maximum speed of 24 rpm in less than 20 seconds, due to the 33 kW 3-phase motor. At this speed, the riders are experiencing centripetal force equivalent to three times the force of gravity. At full speed, it is possible (though generally prohibited) for a skilled and strong rider to stand horizontally on the pads.
The ride operator is located in the center of the ride. Part of the operator's duty is to control lighting and music in addition to the ride itself. Some variants include closed-circuit television cameras, allowing waiting riders and passersby to observe the ride in action.
There are a few versions of this ride that do not have a roof (i.e. the top canvas is not installed).
The entire ride racks on a single 50-foot trailer for transport. The ride can be assembled in less than six hours, and packed up in three.
Read more about this topic: Gravitron
Famous quotes containing the words design and/or operation:
“I begin with a design for a hearse.
For Christ’s sake not black—
nor white either—and not polished!
Let it be weathered—like a farm wagon—”
—William Carlos Williams (1883–1963)
“It requires a surgical operation to get a joke well into a Scotch understanding. The only idea of wit, or rather that inferior variety of the electric talent which prevails occasionally in the North, and which, under the name of “Wut,” is so infinitely distressing to people of good taste, is laughing immoderately at stated intervals.”
—Sydney Smith (1771–1845)