Chapter 3 of 10All chapters
Chapter 3 of 10
Engines
Turning fuel into rotation.
The four strokes
Intake draws in air and fuel, compression squeezes it, combustion pushes the piston down, and exhaust clears the cylinder. Diesel omits the spark and ignites by compression alone.
- Compression matters because a hotter, denser mixture releases more usable energy.
- Most of the fuel energy still leaves as heat, which is thermodynamics rather than bad design.
Other engines
Turbines burn continuously and spin a shaft, which suits aircraft and power stations. Electric motors skip combustion entirely and are far more efficient at converting energy to motion.