Transcript: Ferris Wheel Science

It may not be fast, it may not be scary, but my favourite ride is … the Ferris Wheel.

My name’s Chris Krishna-Pillay, and I work at CSIRO.

The very first Ferris Wheel was a massive 79.2 metres tall. This Ferris Wheel is 20 metres high, but it uses exactly the same mechanics.

All rides start with energy. Energy is what makes things happen, and there are many different types of it. You can’t make it, you can’t destroy it, but you can change it from one kind to another.

This is known as the Law of Conservation of Energy. In the case of the Ferris Wheel, it starts as electrical energy and is changed into kinetic energy, or movement energy.

So how is electrical energy changed into kinetic energy? In the motor.

The motor has a magnet surrounded by copper coils. The electricity travels through the coils, which creates another magnetic field. When these two magnetic fields come together, that makes the rotor rotate.

One reason that such a small motor can move such a large wheel is because of the way the wheel is designed.

The steel circle of the Ferris Wheel is cross-sectioned with poles that make triangular shapes. Triangles are very strong shapes, which means you need less steel to make the Ferris Wheel, which keeps it light. That means that you need less energy to make it move around.

Even the mount of the Ferris Wheel is made with triangles.

So how do you stop a Ferris Wheel? Well, you need to stop the energy going to it – which simply means: turn the electricity off. But even when you do that, and apply the brakes, there is still some kinetic energy inside the system. And that comes out as a bit of sound and also as heat energy inside the motor.

Of course, the best kind of energy in the Ferris Wheel is fun energy!