过山车的工作原理揭秘

　　Roller coasters have three basic parts – thetrack, the train, and a motor.

　　过山车有三个基本部分——轨道、车体和动力设备。

　　Mike Brooks (rides electrical foreperson,Carowinds): There are two types of coasters. You do have a wooden coaster and you have a steel coaster. The steel coaster is sort of a smooth coaster1 and it’s much easier on a steel coaster to be able to turn it upside down.

　　麦克·布鲁克斯（北卡罗来纳州卡罗文兹主题公园乘坐设施电子操作领班）：一共有两种过山车：一种是木质过山车，另一种是钢质过山车。钢质过山车运行平稳，也更容易使之进行翻转。

　　At its most basic level, a roller coaster is a machine that uses gravity to send a train along a winding track. The cars usually start out by being pulled up a steep  hill with a chain drive.At the top of the hill, gravity pulls the train down building up momentum. This momentum gives the train enough energy to make it up the next hill. You’ll notice that the highest point of the ride is always earliest in the track. That’s because the friction of the wheels and track slowly drain energy away from the train.

　　从最基本的层面来说，过山车是一种利用重力让车体沿着弯曲轨道运行的机器。车厢在一开始通常会被链条传送装置拉向一个陡坡。在坡顶处，重力逐渐产生动量，将车体向下拉。这种动量使车体有足够的能量爬上下一个坡。你会注意到整个乘坐过程中的最高点往往就是整条轨道最开始的部分。这是因为轮子与轨道的摩擦力会逐渐削弱车体的能量。