In order to fully understand the mathematics behind the roller coasters of today, it is best to start with the initial concepts that were used many, many years ago. Some of the earliest rides that are considered the ancestors of modern day roller coasters were the Russian ice slides of the 16th and 17th centuries (Harris & Threewitt, 2020). These slides were long and steep, made of wood, and covered in ice (Harris & Threewitt, 2020). Riders would use sleds made of wood or blocks of ice to slide down into a pile of sand (Harris & Threewitt, 2020).
The history of rides such as the Russian ice slides get murky after this point. However, we do know that two rides that are considered to be the very first roller coasters were built in Paris in 1817 (Levine, 2017). These early roller coasters were named Les Montagnes Russes à Belleville (aka The Russian Mountains of Belleville) and the Promenades Aeriennes (Andrews, 2016). They had wheeled cars that were locked on tracks for safety and guide rails to keep them on course (Andrews, 2016). These rides were still a mostly straight shot downward without any of the hills and loops that we see in today’s roller coasters.
The first real roller coaster that was made in the United States was called the Gravity Switchback Railway and it was made in 1884 (Levine, 2017). The creator of this ride is considered the father of roller coasters due to the attention his ride got (Levine, 2017). Passengers would face sideways in the cars rather than forward and the ride was still only one-way, relying on gravity the whole way down, but it did have some hills (Long, 2018). After this coaster, cars quickly became the more typically forward-facing ones we know today (Long, 2018).
After that point, roller coasters began popping up all over the country, but the next real innovation is credited to Disneyland’s team and a ride manufacturer (Levine, 2017). They made the Matterhorn Bobsleds; a roller coaster with cars that use polyurethane wheels on a tubular steel track (Levine, 2017). Also, they made an electronic dispatch system that allowed more than one car to be on the track at one time (Glover, 2011).
Ever since then, roller coaster innovation has only increased to the point of the roller coasters we are familiar with today. We now have roller coasters with twists and turns, loops and corkscrews, floorless cars, and/or suspended trains. But, many roller coasters have at least one thing in common; they rely on potential and kinetic energy and the acceleration of gravity, just like the Russian ice slides that predated all the other rides.