Balloon roller coasters around the world compete to see who can reach the highest height and who can provide the greatest acceleration, the kind that works when launching spaceships. The dangers inherent in the new roller coasters
Oliver Berkman
As the wagon rolls slowly towards the summit, the thoughts of the adventurers
who board roller coasters tend to focus on existential questions: the impermanence of
Life, its fragility, and how, in the wrong circumstances, a fall may occur
Vertically at great speed and from a very high altitude to bring the passengers to the end.
As soon as the carriage reaches the steep slope, there is no time to think: the passengers
The screamers are thrown into a black hole face down, at a speed of
about 110 km/h. Their bodies are subjected to the pressures of four and a half times greater forces
by gravity. After a few seconds, the paralyzing fear is replaced by a burst of relief,
Joy and sweeping disdain towards those who chose to wait on the ground.
But in recent months people have reported getting on the roller coasters
The fastest and steepest in the world - mainly in the United States, in Japan
And in the UK - for worrying feelings: headaches that don't go away
and symptoms of those suffering from blood clots in the brain (blood clots may cause
to brain damage, convulsions and even death). "Consumer Committee for Product Safety"
In the UK this month, there were 16 reports of brain injuries, which are estimated to be
They are related to the intensity of the pressures exerted on the passengers on the roller coasters.
In Japan, researchers reported that after diving 70 meters in the roller coaster
The giant "Fujiyama", a 24-year-old woman was diagnosed with a cerebral hemorrhage like this
formed in babies who have been shaken for a long time.
The woman recovered after eight weeks. However, warns Toshio Fukutaka -
Neurologist at Chiba University in Japan who wrote the study on "Fujiyama"
- "We suspect that in recent years there have been many injuries from traveling by train
Mountains, but they were ignored." He admitted that the problem is rare, but added:
"The new roller coasters, whose acceleration is very high, may be
More dangerous than the old trains."
The feeling of fear is an essential part of the thrill provided by a roller coaster ride
favor. Equally essential, of course, is the knowledge that despite everything, nothing is
Dear passengers. In general, this industry has an excellent history in the field
Safety: in the UK, about 500 million train tickets are sold each year
mountains The number of accidents since the country's first roller coaster was put into operation
amounts to only 400. The managers of the amusement parks enjoy reminding the thrill seekers
The criticism that the chances of getting hurt in an accident while driving to the amusement park
seven times greater than the chances of being injured when using the facilities; and a given
Another one, this time from the United States: going fishing is 17 times more dangerous than visiting
in an amusement park.
In recent years the roller coasters are getting faster and steeper.
The height and acceleration records are broken one after the other. According to "Train Club".
The Mountains of Britain", "Millennium Force at Cedar Point Park
In Ohio, it is the tallest roller coaster (it rises to a height of 95
meters); "The Escape - Superman in the park "Magic Mountain"
In California, it is the fastest (the train "shoots" its passengers
at a speed of about 160 km/h, exposing them to forces approaching those
experienced until now only by astronauts and fighter pilots).
During the launch of the space shuttle, the astronauts are exposed to an acceleration of 3
G. The passengers at the "Pepsi Max Big One" facility in the "Amusement Park"
In Blackpool, England - a facility that reaches such a height that the Aviation Authority
The British citizen demanded that it be equipped with warning lights for planes - exposed
for an acceleration of 3.5 G. The one who is magnificent dares and goes on the roller coaster
Oblivion in Staffordshire, England, was exposed to 4.5G. Just a pilot
In battle they experience stronger "blows" - and they wear anti-shock suits
Gravity that compresses air around their lower body (the air compresses the vessel
the blood to prevent the rapid emptying of the blood from the head when forces
The gravity reaches 9 and 10 G). Another difference between the pilots
And the astronauts and the passengers on the roller coasters are the first
Train for years to meet the extreme conditions.
"It is difficult to compare the two cases," qualifies Volker Daman from the Space Agency
European, expert on the effects of space travel on the human body. "Much
Depends on the length of time the person is exposed to strong forces. This is a roller coaster
For fractions of a second, and this is also experienced while cars are performing
sharp turns. Body position is also important. The worst is power
vertical, pushing the blood from the head down. The destroyed astronauts in the spaceship
Soyuz stood at 5G for a long time, but they were lying on their backs. was
It's much harder for them to breathe, but the blood flowed from the chest towards the back, what?
that reduced the risk".
Until it is proven with certainty that the new roller coasters do cause damage
Much larger than the old trains (or, alternatively, until these trains back up
their first victim), those who need to worry are mostly those people
They spend, for reasons reserved with them, a considerable part of their time on the steel canals
The snakes: people like the American Richard Rodriguez, who in 1998 determined the
The world record for a roller coaster ride - 1,013 hours.
Guardian
{Appeared in Haaretz newspaper, 31/5/2000{
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