Trivia 2

Q: Why does the roller coaster produce a “clack-clack” sound when ascending the lift?

A: A roller coaster is mechanically lifted to the top of a lift until its maximum potential energy is at the maximum level, then the train will propel by gravity and allow the roller coaster to ride throughout the circuit.

Since there is no motor in a roller coaster, it must be pulled up to the top of the hill by a motorized chain or cable. In order to prevent a roller coaster from rolling backward down the tower, an “Anti-rollback device” is provided in the system.

The anti-rollback device (see figure 1) is a standard safety feature consisting of a continuous section of metal with “teeth-like” protrusions installed along the lifting track (see figure 2). When the roller coaster is ascending through these teeth, the anti-rollback device on the train (see figure 3), which is in a piece of metal, falls and rests on each groove of the teeth and makes the “clacking” sounds. This device enables the train to go in upwards direction only and effectively preventing the train from rolling back down the hill, which might be caused by power failure or broken chain.

Reference:

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Lift hill. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lift_hill