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How to Design a Real-Life Hot Wheels Loop


You should absolutely not build this thing. But it’s still fun to think through the physics.

The original cars were tiny versions of real models like the Chevy Camaro, and you could build tracks to make them do crazy stunts, all driven by gravity. Yes, the car will make it to the top of the loop, but because the kinetic energy drops to zero at this point, it won't go any farther—it'll just fall straight down. But if you reduce the velocity ( v), it's possible that the centripetal acceleration would be so small that the only way the equation could work is with the force from the track ( F T) being in the positive direction.

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