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A Devil's wheel, Teufelsrad, Human Roulette Wheel or Joy Wheel [1] is an amusement ride at public festivals and fairs. Devil's wheels have been used at Oktoberfest celebrations since at least 1910. [2]
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A Devil's wheel is a rotating circular platform upon which riders sit or lie. It begins by spinning slowly and increases its speed to make riders slide off the platform. Spectators stand around the platform, and the announcers often offer some satirical commentary.
Riders who slide off the platform usually hit a cushioned wall. Injuries are possible if riders collide with spectators or other objects. An operator controls the speed of the platform, sometimes slowing it down to give participants the opportunity to re-position themselves toward the center.
An added feature was the mild jolt of electricity transmitted through the metal screws holding the platform down. Riders had to contend with small electrical shocks while trying to hold on to the flat spinning surface.
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The Platform is a disc. It is not an inertial system because of its rotation. The riders' sense of balance is compromised by the rotating disk. This complicates movement towards or away from the center of the wheel. If one is moving radially outward, in addition to the expected centrifugal force (directed outward), the Coriolis force applies directed tangentially (i.e. laterally).
A smaller version of the Devil's Wheel was displayed at EXPERIMINTA Science Center FrankfurtRheinMain in December 2011. [3] Devil's wheels is still a part of the Munich Oktoberfest and in the Taunus Wunderland. [4]
Elements may be added to the Devil's Wheel to make it even more difficult for the riders to hold on. A ball attached to a chain may swing at them or the ride may shake.
In Evelyn Waugh's first published novel, Decline and Fall , the character Otto Silenus describes a Devil's Wheel (referred to as the "big wheel at Luna Park") as a metaphor for life.
A tricycle, sometimes abbreviated to trike, is a human-powered three-wheeled vehicle.
A differential is a gear train with three drive shafts that has the property that the rotational speed of one shaft is the average of the speeds of the others, or a fixed multiple of that average.
A longboard is a type of skateboard typified by longer decks and wheelbases, larger-diameter and softer (lower-durometer) wheels, and often lower riding height compared to street skateboards, though there is wide variation in the geometry and construction of longboards. Among the earliest types of skateboards, longboards were inspired by surfing, with early longboards drawing from the design of surfboards, resembling and mimicking the motion of riding a surfboard, but adapted to riding on streets in a practice known as sidewalk surfing.
Kneeboarding is an aquatic sport where the participant is towed on a buoyant, convex, and hydrodynamically shaped board at a planing speed, most often behind a motorboat. Kneeboarding on a surf style board with fin(s) is also done in waves at the beach. In the usual configuration of a tow-sport kneeboard, riders kneel on their heels on the board, and secure themselves to the deck with an adjustable Velcro strap over their thighs. Most water ski kneeboards do not have fins to allow for easier surface spins. As in wakeboarding or water skiing, the rider hangs onto a tow-rope. The advantages of kneeboarding versus other tow-sports seems to be an easier learning curve and a sense of being closer to the water when falls occur.
Longboarding is typically defined as a variation of skateboarding that involves a larger board and softer urethane wheels. Longboards vary in shape and size. Compared to skateboards, longboards are more stable at speed and have more traction, due to larger wheel size and lower wheel durometers. A standard skateboard is typically between 28-34 inches long, whereas a longboard may exceed 50 inches. Many longboards use trucks that have different geometric parameters than skateboards. The skateboards use "traditional kingpin trucks" while longboards often use "reverse kingpin trucks." This hardware change is the key element in the increased stability that longboards offer.
In mechanical or automotive engineering, a freewheel or overrunning clutch is a device in a transmission that disengages the driveshaft from the driven shaft when the driven shaft rotates faster than the driveshaft. An overdrive is sometimes mistakenly called a freewheel, but is otherwise unrelated.
A caster is an undriven wheel that is designed to be attached to the bottom of a larger object to enable that object to be moved.
Casino Pier is an amusement park situated on a pier, in Seaside Heights, New Jersey. The pier opened in 1932 and formerly extended approximately 300 ft (91 m) into the Atlantic Ocean from the narrow strip of the Barnegat Peninsula, including approximately six blocks within Seaside Heights.
The Rotor is an amusement ride designed and patented by German engineer Ernst Hoffmeister in 1948. The ride was first demonstrated at Oktoberfest 1949 and still appears in numerous amusement parks. The Rotor is a large, upright barrel, rotated to create an inward acting centripetal force supplied by the wall's support's force. Once at full speed, the floor is retracted, leaving the riders stuck to the wall of the drum.
A freestyle skateboarding trick is a trick performed with a skateboard while freestyle skateboarding. Some of these tricks are done in a stationary position, unlike many other skateboarding tricks. The keys to a good freestyle contest run are variety, difficulty, fluidity, and creativity. This is an incomplete list, which includes most notable tricks.
A slide is a skateboarding trick where the skateboarder slides sideways either on the deck or the trucks.
Bicycle and motorcycle dynamics is the science of the motion of bicycles and motorcycles and their components, due to the forces acting on them. Dynamics falls under a branch of physics known as classical mechanics. Bike motions of interest include balancing, steering, braking, accelerating, suspension activation, and vibration. The study of these motions began in the late 19th century and continues today.
The Top Spin is a thrill ride developed by HUSS Park Attractions and Mondial, and is the generic name for a series of rides from other manufacturers that follow the same principle. The ride consists of a passenger platform suspended between two counterweighted arms. The arms are turned by motors, while the platform typically only has brakes that are engaged and disengaged at various points of the ride cycle. A typical top spin program runs the main arm motors while engaging and disengaging the platform brakes so that it will rotate in exciting ways. The minimum rider height requirement is 54 inches; maximum is 80 inches due to the seat and restraint design. The ride was introduced to the public in 1990 and proved an instant success with European fairgoers.
The Scrambler, Twist, Twister, Cha Cha, Sizzler, or Merry Mixer, is an amusement ride in which suspended riders spinning in cars experience centrifugal force, while spinning along two separate axes. Riders are seated in small carriages clustered together and connected by beams at the top to a central point. The clustered vehicles are spun in one direction, while the ride as a whole spins in the opposite direction. There are a number of variations of the design.
A caster board, vigorboard or waveboard is a two-wheeled, human-powered land vehicle. Other names are J-board and RipStik, both of which are derived from commercial brands.
Aussie World is a privately owned, medium-sized, family theme park on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. It has over 30 rides and attractions.
Pixar Pal-A-Round is a 150-foot-tall (46 m) eccentric wheel at Disney California Adventure, at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. The attraction opened to the public on February 8, 2001 at Paradise Pier as the Sun Wheel. Inspired by Wonder Wheel at Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park, Coney Island, which also features both sliding and fixed gondolas, Pixar Pal-A-Round has a large pie-eyed Mickey Mouse face at its center.
A motorcycle transmission is a transmission created specifically for motorcycle applications. They may also be found in use on other light vehicles such as motor tricycles and quadbikes, go-karts, offroad buggies, auto rickshaws, mowers, and other utility vehicles, microcars, and even some superlight racing cars.
Fiesta Shows is a travelling amusement park that entertains and visits over 60 communities throughout the New England region. It is New England's largest carnival.
