In the summer of 1895, crowds flooded the Coney Island boardwalk to see the latest marvel of roller coaster technology: the Flip Flap Railway. This was America’s first-ever looping coaster – but its thrilling flip came at a price. The ride caused numerous cases of severe whiplash, neck injury and even ejections, all due to its signature loop. Today, coasters can pull off far more exciting tricks, without resorting to the “thrill” of a hospital visit. But what exactly are roller coasters doing to your body, and how have they managed to get scarier and safer at the same time?
在 1895 年夏天, 康尼島的木棧道上滿是人群, 他們搶著要看看最新的 雲霄飛車技術有多神奇: 就是「搖擺鐵路」。 它是美國最早的轉圈飛車—— 但它那刺激的翻轉是有代價的。 這組飛車曾經造成許多 嚴重揮鞭症候群、 頸部受傷,甚至彈出的意外, 原因都是它主打的轉圈設計。 現今,雲霄飛車的花招更炫了, 且不附帶後續要進醫院的 另一種「刺激」。 但雲霄飛車對你的身體 到底有何影響?
At the center of every roller coaster design is gravity. Unlike cars or transit trains, most coasters are propelled around their tracks almost entirely by gravitational energy. After the coaster crests the initial lift hill, it begins an expertly engineered cycle – building potential energy on ascents and expending kinetic energy on descents. This rhythm repeats throughout the ride, acting out the coaster engineer’s choreographed dance of gravitational energy.
它們要如何能在同時 變得更安全又更駭人? 雲霄飛車設計的核心是重力。 和汽車或捷運不同, 大部分雲霄飛車能在軌道上推進, 靠的幾乎全是重力能。 在雲霄飛車爬上了第一個高峰時, 專業打造的循環就開始了—— 上升時會建立位能, 下降時會消耗動能。 這個節奏在整趟過程中不斷重覆, 演出雲霄飛車工程師 所編排的重力能之舞。
But there’s a key variable in this cycle that wasn’t always so carefully considered: you. In the days of the Flip-Flap, ride designers were most concerned with coasters getting stuck somewhere along the track. This led early builders to overcompensate, hurling trains down hills and pulling on the brakes when they reached the station. But as gravity affects the cars, it also affects the passengers. And under the intense conditions of a coaster, gravity’s effects are multiplied.
但在這個循環中有一個關鍵變數 不見得總是被小心地考量到: 就是你。 在搖擺鐵路時期, 飛車設計師最擔心的是飛車 在軌道的某個地方卡住。 這導致了早期的建造者會過度補償, 讓列車更猛地衝下坡, 在抵達終點站時用力拉煞車。 但重力不只會影響列車, 也會影響乘客。 在雲霄飛車的緊張條件下, 重力的影響有加乘的效果。 有一種噴射機飛行員、 太空人、雲霄飛車設計師
There’s a common unit used by jet pilots, astronauts, and coaster designers called “g force”. One G force is the familiar tug of gravity you feel when standing on Earth – this is the force of Earth’s gravitational pull on our bodies. But as riders accelerate and decelerate, they experience more or less gravitational force. Modern ride designers know that the body can handle up to roughly 5 Gs, but the Flip-Flap and its contemporaries routinely reached up to 12 Gs. At those levels of gravitational pressure, blood is sent flying from your brain to your feet, leading to light-headedness or blackouts as the brain struggles to stay conscious. And oxygen deprivation in the retinal cells impairs their ability to process light, causing greyed out vision or temporary blindness. If the riders are upside down, blood can flood the skull, causing a bout of crimson vision called a “redout”.
都常使用的單位,叫「G 力」。 1G 的力就是你站在地球上時 熟悉的重力牽引—— 這就是地球對我們的身體 所產生的重力拉力。 但隨著飛車乘客加速和減速, 他們會經歷到更高或更低的重力。 現代的飛車設計師知道 人體能承受到大約 5G, 但搖擺鐵路和那時的 其他飛車經常會衝到 12G。 在那種程度的重力壓力下, 血液會從你的大腦衝到你的腳, 在大腦拼命想保持意識時 導致眩暈或昏倒。 視網膜細胞缺氧 會讓那些細胞無法處理光線, 造成視線灰暗或暫時性失明。 如果乘客倒過來, 血液可能會衝向頭部, 造成視線變紅的「紅視」發作。
Conversely, negative G’s create weightlessness. Within the body, short-term weightlessness is mostly harmless. It can contribute to a rider’s motion sickness by suspending the fluid in their inner ears which coordinates balance. But the bigger potential danger – and thrill – comes from what ride designers call airtime. This is when riders typically experience seat separation, and, without the proper precautions, ejection. The numerous belts and harnesses of modern coasters have largely solved this issue, but the passenger’s ever-changing position can make it difficult to determine what needs to be strapped down.
反過來,負數的 G 力造成失重。 在身體內,短期的失重 幾乎是無害的。 它可能會造成乘客暈車, 因為會讓內耳中 協調平衡的液體懸浮起來, 但更大的潛在危險和刺激 來自飛車設計師所謂的空中時間。 也就是乘客通常 會感覺到和椅子分離, 且,若沒做好事先預防, 就會彈出去。 現代雲霄飛車用了 許多安全帶和保險帶, 大部分解決了這個議題, 但乘客的位置一直在改變, 可能很難判斷要怎麼捆綁。 幸運的是,現代 雲霄飛車設計師都知道
Fortunately, modern ride designers are well aware of what your body, and the coaster, can handle. Coaster engineers play these competing forces against each other, to relieve periods of intense pressure with periods of no pressure at all. And since a quick transition from positive to negative G-force can result in whiplash, headaches, and back and neck pain, they avoid the extreme changes in speed and direction so common in thrill rides of old. Modern rides are also much sturdier, closely considering the amount of gravity they need to withstand. At 5 G’s, your body feels 5 times heavier; so if you weigh 100lbs, you’d exert the weight of 500 lbs on the coaster. Engineers have to account for the multiplied weight of every passenger when designing a coaster’s supports.
你的身體和雲霄飛車能承受多少。 雲霄飛車的工程師 利用這些力來互相抗衡, 用完全沒有壓力的一段路 來緩和壓力極大的一段路。 因為從正的 G 力 快速轉換為負的 G 力 可能會造成揮鞭症候群、 頭痛、背痛、頸痛, 他們會避免使用以前 刺激飛車常見的做法: 速度和方向的急劇改變。 現代飛車也比較堅固, 很仔細地考量了飛車 需要承受的重力。 在 5G 時,你的身體 感覺起來有 5 倍重; 如果你的體重是一百磅, 你在雲霄飛車上 要承受五百磅的體重。 工程師在設計雲霄飛車的支撐時, 要考慮到每一位乘客加乘的體重。
Still, these rides aren’t for everyone. The floods of adrenaline, light-headedness, and motion sickness aren’t going anywhere soon. But today’s redundant restraints, 3D modeling and simulation software have made roller coasters safer and more thrilling than ever. Our precise knowledge about the limits of the human body have helped us build coasters that are faster, taller, and loopier – and all without going off the rails.
不過,仍然不是人人 適合乘坐雲霄飛車。 腎上腺素大量分泌、 頭暈目眩、暈車 暫時都還是會存在。 但現今,過多的限制、 3D 建模,以及模擬軟體 已經讓雲霄飛車變得 比以前更安全、更刺激。 我們對於人體限制的精確知識 協助我們打造出更快、更高、 更多轉圈的雲霄飛車—— 且都不會出軌。