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How the combustion engine works
Article Toolsby Steve Martin
The internal combustion engine works of a piston firing in a cylinder. Usually in a car, there are four such cylinders.
The first phase of the process is known as the intake stroke. This is where the piston starts at the top. It then moves down the cylinder and draws in a mixture of air and petrol (gasoline). Next there is the compression stroke where the piston moves back up and compresses the air and petrol (gasoline) mixture. The third phase is the the combustion stroke. Here the spark plug creates a spark which ignites the petrol (gasoline) causing it to explode and drive the piston down the cylinder. This vertical motion is converted to a rotary motion by the vehicle's crankshaft. Finally, there is the exhaust stroke where the piston returns to the top of the cylinder and pushes out the exhaust gas.
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