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How Water Slides Work
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In the amusement park industry, the is king. But during the hot summer months,
these classic attractions get some tough competition from <a
href="http://www.hthamusement.com/inflatable-slide/" target="_self">inflatable slide</a>.
In the past 30 years, the world of slides has exploded. They've transformed
from simple poolside slopes to intricate attractions that dominate entire parks.
According to the World Waterpark Association, there are more than 1,000 water parks in
North America, and about 78 million people visited them in the summer of 2006.
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Water parks boast slides with dozens of loops, incredible speeds and exhilarating
drops. The <a href="http://www.hthamusement.com/inflatable-slide/inflatable-dry-slide/"
target="_self">inflatable dry slide </a>on record is the 120-foot (37-meter) "Summit
Plummet" in Walt Disney World's Blizzard Beach. If you'd rather ride down on
a raft, you can take a plunge on the similarly record-breaking "Insane," an 11-
story-tall water slide in Brazil [source: World Waterpark Association]. Whether you're
on a mat, a raft or your bare skin, you're at the mercy of gravity as you make your
way down -- and sometimes up -- the slippery slope.
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A water slide is like a wet roller coaster with no seat and no safety harness, and it
uses the same principles a roller coaster does to work. In this article, we'll peek
behind the scenes to find out what's involved in operating a water slide, from pumping
the water to cleaning it after the ride. We'll also see how the pieces of a water
slide fit together and find out what keeps you from flying off into the air as you whip
around corners.
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At its most basic level, a water slide is a relatively tame roller coaster with no
track and no car. If you've read , then you know that coaster cars are driven by .
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At the beginning of the ride, the coaster car is pulled up the . As the coaster rises
higher in the air, its potential energy, or energy of position, increases. Simply put, it
has farther to fall. When the coaster is released at the top of the hill, gravity pulls it
down the track, converting potential energy to kinetic energy, or energy of motion.
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slides work on exactly the same principle. But instead of a lift hill, you have
a stairway. Climbing the stairs builds up a certain amount of potential energy, which
turns into kinetic energy as you head down the slide. A taller slide has more potential
energy to work with than a shorter slide.
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On the <a href="http://www.hthamusement.com/inflatable-slide/inflatable-water-slide/"
target="_self">inflatable water slide</a>, your body, sometimes combined with a mat or
raft, takes the place of the roller-coaster car. Coaster cars have wheels that roll along
the track. This reduces the friction between the car and the track, so the car can keep
moving. Water slides have a constant stream of water flowing from the top to the bottom.
The water lubricates the slide to reduce the friction between the slide and your body.
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