Discover the Tangential Velocity for the Wall of Death Amusement Park Ride

[am08]

The Wall of Death in an amusement park is comprised of a vertical cylinder that can spin around the vertical axis. Riders stand against the wall of the spinning cylinder and the floor falls away leaving the riders held up by friction. The radius of the cylinder is 3.9 m and the coefficent of static friction between the rider and the wall is 0.35. Find the tangential velocity of the spinning wall necessary so that the riders do not slip down the wall.

Centripetal Acc = (.35*9.8) = 3.43 m/s^2

How do I apply that to find the tangential velocity?

 

[Shooting Star]

Centripetal Acc = (.35*9.8) = 3.43 m/s^2

How did you get this??

Centripetal force is the normal reaction N. The frictional force F must be equal to weight. You should know the relationship between F and N when static friction is max. Now write the correct eqn for minimum tangential velocity.

 

[Moetasim]

To find the tangential velocity, you can use the formula v = √(r*ac), where v is the tangential velocity, r is the radius of the cylinder, and ac is the centripetal acceleration. Plugging in the values given, we get:

v = √(3.9*3.43) = 4.56 m/s

Therefore, the tangential velocity of the spinning wall should be 4.56 m/s in order for the riders to not slip down the wall.