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Skier Loops-the-Loop - again?


A skier at an exhibition wants to loop the loop of radius $R$ on a special (frictionless) ice track set up as shown. How high (in terms of $R$) must the starting slope be for the skier to get around the track if she needs to feel one ``gravity'' of normal-force acceleration at the top of the track to stay in control? (Note well: This means that you should have $N = mg$ (down) at the top of the track instead of $N = 0$ for the case where the skier barely loops the loop).



Robert G. Brown 2000-12-09