Hey, Everyone! My name is Angel, and I’m a Mechanical Engineer at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
You know, my engineering journey began long ago, when I was a kid.
I was the type of kid who liked to take things apart and put them back together just to see how they worked.
That’s, actually, what got me started wanting to learn about science, technology, engineering and math.
In fact, when I got to college that’s when I first found out about engineering, and I had a professor tell me,
if I wanted to change the world, and do something for the better, I could do it with engineering.
In fact, I could even do things as cool as math and science to make a roller coaster.
Speaking of roller coasters, I actually have a roller coaster behind me, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster.
And today, we’re going to show you how we launch trains up to 60 MPH.
But first, we’re going to take you backstage to meet one of Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster engineers.
Engineering, especially here at Disney, is a team effort.
We have a lot of awesome cast members to help to put things together like the launch system that we’re getting ready to learn about.
The best part about this is there is a lot of diverse disciplines that come together to make the magic happen – such as electrical, mechanical and even facilities engineering.
It ends up becoming a team effort, like my buddy Josh here.
Hey, Angel! Hi, I’m Josh, and I’m an Electrical Engineer here at Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster.
As a kid, I was always curious about how things worked. Anything fast was fascinating.
So, I started reading as many books as I could find. My favorites were about roller coasters.
I decided quickly, that if I put some extra effort into my classes,
especially math and science, I could have an exciting career one day.
So, here I am – working on roller coasters everyday.
I’m constantly learning something new and exciting, like when I learned how the launch system works over at this particular coaster.
And, that’s what we’re here to talk to you about today. Hey, Angel, why don’t we go show them how it works?
Hey, Angel, why don’t we go show them how it works?
Let’s do it!
There’s the launch tunnel at Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster.
Trains are launched at extreme speeds down the tunnel, all the way into the gravity building where the rest of the attraction resides.
And what’s the secret behind the launch tunnel? Magnets.
Magnets have two ends called poles.
One is called the north pole. The other is called the south pole.
When two magnetic objects are close to each other, a force exists.
That force attracts the north pole of one magnet to the south pole of the second magnet.
That force will repel the south pole of one magnet from the south pole of the second magnet.
A quick way to remember this concept is opposites attract, and likes repel.
The trains here at Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster are launched down the launch tunnel by a three-part assembly called the pusher car.
The pusher car is a moving platform on it’s own track, that connects below the train and has four rows of rare earth magnets.
The pusher car is propelled by an electromagnetic drive system called the Linear Synchronous Motor or LSM for short.
The LSM is a motor that controls the polarity of the electromagnets that propel the train down the launch track.
Those electromagnets, in the launch tunnel, are white blocks that line both sides of the entire launch tunnel.
The LSM is controlled by a computer that sends alternating currents through the electromagnets – creating a linear moving magnetic field.
When power is applied to the electromagnets, by the LSM, they work with the permanent magnets on the pusher car to propel the train.
As the train moves down the track, the electromagnets change polarity to alternately attract and repel the pusher car rapidly down the launch tunnel.
At the end of the launch tunnel, the permanent magnets of the pusher car pass over the electromagnetic brakes,
and the pusher car stops while the train continues into the gravity building.
The pusher car is then automatically returned to the beginning of the launch tunnel to engage and launch the next train.
The magnetic forces, here in action at the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, aren’t just limited to roller coaster design.
Around the world, a technology called Maglev is making train travel faster than ever. Maglev is short for magnetic levitation.
Meaning, these trains actually levitate about 10 centimeters above a guideway using the basic fundamentals of magnetism.
The guideway is a magnetized coil along the track that repels the large magnets on the train’s undercarriage.
As the train levitates, power is supplied to the coils within the guideway walls creating a unique system of magnetic fields that push and pull the train to its destination.
Like our coasters push and pull system, the Maglev train is another real world example of how the engineers use magnetism.
You know, you think they had fun today?
I think they did, Angel.
I hope you enjoyed the backstage tour of Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster.