Internal combustion engine
device · 1876 · Electric age
An engine in which fuel burns inside the cylinder (Otto’s four-stroke cycle).
Inventors: Rudolf Diesel, Nicolaus Otto.
What it is made of
- Piston — has part. The burning mixture pushes the piston.
- Crankshaft — has part. The crankshaft turns the stroke of the pistons into rotation.
- Flywheel — has part. The flywheel smooths out the engine’s strokes.
- Camshaft — has part. The camshaft opens the engine’s valves.
- Valve — has part. Valves let in the mixture and let out the gases.
- Cylinder — has part. Combustion takes place in the cylinders.
- Carburettor — has part. Petrol engines mixed fuel and air in a carburettor until the 1980s–90s; modern engines use fuel injection instead.
- Spark plug — has part. A petrol engine ignites the mixture with a spark plug.
- Ignition coil — has part. The coil supplies high voltage to the spark plugs.
- Radiator — has part. The cooling system.
- Turbocharger — has part. Forced induction.
- Silencer — has part. A silencer.
- Starter motor — has part. A starter.
- Engine control unit — has part. An engine control unit.
Principles and materials it uses
- Petrol — uses. The fuel of a petrol engine.
- Combustion — uses. Fuel burns in the cylinder.
Where it is used
- Motorcycle — is part of. A motorcycle is driven by a combustion engine.
- Car — is part of. A classic car is driven by a combustion engine.
- Chainsaw — is part of. A two-stroke engine.
- Hybrid car — is part of. A combustion engine.
- Airship — is part of. Internal combustion engines.
- Aeroplane — is part of. Piston aero engines.
- Moped — is part of. A small-displacement combustion engine.
- Outboard motor — is part of. A combustion engine.
- Jet ski — is part of. An engine.
- Sports car — is part of. A powerful internal combustion engine.
- Pickup truck — is part of. An internal combustion engine.
- Military jeep — is part of. A petrol engine.
- SUV — is part of. An internal combustion engine.
- Motor scooter — is part of. A two-stroke engine.
- Biplane — is part of. A piston engine turns the propeller.
- Seaplane — is part of. A piston engine.
History: what it evolved from and what it influenced
- Watt steam engine — evolved from. The combustion engine inherited the “cylinder — piston — crank” layout from the steam engine, moving combustion inside the cylinder.
What it is a kind of
- Heat engine — is a kind of. A combustion engine turns the heat of burning fuel into work.
- Diesel engine — includes. A diesel is a kind of internal combustion engine.
- Turbojet engine — includes. A jet engine is also an internal combustion engine: fuel burns inside, but a gas jet pushes the plane.