Carousels

The carousel may not be one on the most exciting things in a theme park but since it is based on physics it is one of the most reliable rides based on the laws of motion. The carousel has very interesting physics explanations about things like the speed of a horse on the inside of the circle as opposed to a horse on the outside of the circle. Carousels have been around for a very long time and have always demonstrated some of the basic fundamental principles of physics.

In a normal carousel ride there are two or more rows of horses. Generally the farther out the row of horses is the faster it is traveling. Even though the period (or time it takes for one rotation) of each horse is the same, it requires the horses on the outside to cover a greater distance over that same amount of time. Since the outer horses have to do this it means that they have a greater linear speed.