Roller Coaster Calculus

By Xah Lee. Date: . Last updated: .

when i see a roller-coaster, i see calculus.

Blue Fire roller coaster
Blue Fire roller-coaster. [ image source 2011-09-17 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Blue_fire_loop.jpg ]

The calculus of roller coaster. What if a derivative is wrong? death.

In the old days, roller coaster is height based. You pull seats high and let it drop. Modern, is powered. You no longer coast. You are driven into sinuousness.

roller coaster The Smiler 2015 b3a62
roller coaster The Smiler 2015 [image source [ 2018-08-06 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:TheSmiler2015(1).JPG ]]