The Boston Globe from Boston, Massachusetts • 31

Names D2 Ann Landers D2 Go! Tonight D4 Movie Directory D6-7 TV Radio D9-10 Real Estate Dll The Boston Globe Saturday, April 20, 2002 Free and breezy This weekend you can set r-'-. sail for fun with a Boston i A mother's touch I After raising her son, Alice Swinden I Carter enrolled in the School of the I Museum of Fine Arts. Today, the Institute of Contemporary Art awards the sculptor its artist prize. D5 Tomorrow in Arts Entertainment Steve Morse examines the hot-button issue of CD burning as a rise in copied discs takes its toll on the music industry. XkAJ'l HaAortripOeft learn some magic tricks, or jest ri with King Arthur.

Family ,4" 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 I II 1 1 1 1 1 II HIIIIIIIIMIIHIIIIIMIIIIUIIIIIIIIIIIIIMIIIIHIMIIHIIIIIIHH1IIIIIIIIIIMIIIIIIIIH mniniiHimiiiinntninitniniiiiininiimnnmimiiiHiiiii nmtiiiiiniinninn I' ill ytiK A new roller-coaster ride pushes limits of suspended animation Fasten your Bat belts By Joseph Kahn GLOBE STAFF AGAWAM An all-purpose super- hero if ever there was one, Batman has swooped and somersaulted his way through everything from comic books to Hollywood blockbusters. And not for nothing is he nicknamed the Dark I Knight He's tall, good-looking, techno- i sawy, slightly twisted, and drives really, really fast I Sound like a roller coaster to you? It did to park officials at Six Flags New England, who today take the wraps off their newest gate attraction, a foot-long "floorless" ride named after I Gotham City's favorite son. And one they hope will lure hard-core thrill-riders, de- GLOBE STAFF PHOTOSDOMINIC CHAVEZ A A. X. 11 "Batman -The Dark Knight," at Six Flags New England in Agawam, sends riders into new kinds of harrowing twists and turns.

spite safety concerns that are giving elude interlocked corkscrews, an 85- parks like Six Flags a nagging case of foot-high zero-gravity dive loop, and a whiplash. 95-foot vertical loop. Riders are flipped As coasters go, "Batman The Dark own nve times during the 140- Knight" is not the fastest, tallest or long- second trjp. For anyone who's likely to I est on the planet, nor even on the same get queasy on a Tilt-a-Whirl: bring your block. With a height of 117 feet and a own airsickness bag.

top speed of 55 miles per hour, if nearly One ofonly six retractable-floor 100 feet lower and 25 m.p.h. slower coasters built in the United States, the than the park's Superman coaster. $9.5 million ride also has Dedestal-stvle What it lacks in sheer velocity, seats that make riders, with feet dan- though, it more than matches with gimgi fi 35 though they're flying head-spinning design elements that in- ROLLER COASTER, Page D10 Look ma, no engine! A roller-coaster ride, with the exception of the first hill, is self-propelled. After the cars are taken to the top of the first hill Lift hill A rolling chain powered by an engine takes the cars up the first hill. The Energy swapped and sapped As the train speeds up and stows down, the type of energy propelling it changes.

In any roller coaster the size of the hills diminishes as the train goes on because energy driving the train is slowed by friction between track and train. mriMi.rrun cmmH ic fmm s- by an engine, the ride is driven by the forces of inertia and gravity. ratchets that stop cars ffrL Potential energy irom moving backward. Kinetic energy Potential energy This type of energy is set into motion by the pull of gravity. It is greatest at the highest points of the ride, propelling the cars downhill.

y) ''JGteZZtr TRACK car x- yfr ROLLING CHAIN THE TRAIN'S CHAIN DOGS attach to Kinetic energy This is the energy of inertia; once an object is in motion, it tends to stay in motion. This energy is greatest at the lowest points of the ride, propelling the cars uphill. GLOBE STAFF GRAPHICJOAN McLAUGHUN the chain going up the lift hill, and then release at the top to set the train in motion. Elliptical loop gives the maximum possible energy for the rest of the ride. Exit path continues the smooth transition, building momentum for the second hill.

Free fall is the most exciting drop. It is curved at the bottom for a safe transition. Second hill, smaller than the first hill, maintains speed and "weightlessness." First hill is the highest point and it provides momentum fof the rest of the ride. SOURCES: Roller Coasters by Nick Cook; howstulfworla.com; learner.org iiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiii ii mi 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin Minium iiiiiiiiiiiiimii iiiiiiiiiiiinii i iniiuii iiiiiiiiiiini mi iiiiiiimiiiiiiimiiiiihmimiiiiiiiiiii Getting commuters to stop and think il 'A -V Performance-art piece examines our workday culture By Hayley Kaufman GLOBE STAFF I vv I a recent Friday at 5:15 p.m., the half-running throngs of commuters fif, f2 0 hurrying into South Sta- GLOBE STAFF PHOTOJIM WILSON tionareaiiiooiunemone -r Paul McCartney was inspired and intense at the FleetCenter. direction up.

Up at the massive 1 -4 is a trip worth taking ules. Up at the clock, that relentless taskmaster. Up in disgust at having missed, say, the 5:10 to Franklin. But Callon Walker, 25, was looking up in curiosity. Not at the train schedule or the McDonald's menu or the books at Barbara's Bestsellers.

He was staring up at two people in the middle of the station posing on tables and cov ered head to toe, clothes to shoes to Walkman to cellphone in bronze By Steve Morse GLOBE STAFF along and was much better than his last couple of tours. naint I Walker, a fulfillment supervisor for GLOBE STAFF PHOTODAVID KAMtRMAN Royalty came to town last night McCartney has only done four and did not disappoint Rock Hall tours since the Beatles broke up of Famer Paul McCartney lived up 32 years ago, so he was well-rested Mic to the history of the and, amazingly, still able to sing Beatles and more the songs in their original keys, ReWCW witha2V4-hourshow unlike so many of his more wasted that was off the charts boomer peers. for its brilliance before a sold-out McCartney, who turns 60 on crowd at the FleetCenter. June 18, defied the years with a 1 The show got better as it went MCCARTNEY, Pag D7 Grand Circle shifted his weight from one foot to the other, clutched the Karin Webb (left) and Yani Batteau enact a scene from Batteau's performance piece strap of his messenger bag, and knitted "Working Hours: A day at the office" in the waiting area at South Station. 1 "WORKING HOURS," Pig 08 ifW" 'B'WfrMiS' mf, 0m mt.