How the combustion engine works 11 Articles

by Tad Wesley

As a former Chemistry student, I find that the best way to understand the workings of an internal combustion engine is to start with the chemical reaction that is taking place, and show how the engine serves to facilitate ...read more

by Patrick Pleasance

The internal combustion engine is one of our most highly valued engineering marvels. It gets us from point a to b, and sometimes it even gets us that long awaited adrenaline rush we've been searching for. In a nutshell...read more

by Paul John

Imagine a hollow cylindrical chamber box with another solid box slightly smaller and 10 times shorter inside, which can move length ways within the larger of the two but with enough friction to maintain a seal. For exp...read more

by Lauren Beyenhof

The internal combustion engine is one of the most useful inventions of modern time. It uses linear motion to create rational motion, which is what moves a vehicle forward. However, the forward motion would not occur withou...read more

by rbnstr08

Engine combustion is compression of the correct mixture of air and fuel inside an engine's cylinder and then ignited. There are two different fuels for two different combustion types. For gasoline engines it is Spark Com...read more

by Katie Savinger

A heat-releasing oxidation reaction occurs between air and gas to produce gases of a high temperature and pressure in an enclosed space. If it is an internal combustion engine, this pressure is exerted directly onto a pist...read more

by John Ledbury

Irrespective of how many cylinders, the principle is the same for all petrol engines. Diesel engines work in a slightly different way. Let us assume we are looking at a four cylinder engine. Each of the cylinders goes thr...read more

by Mario

I assume we are talking about the internal combustion engine. The best way I can describe how an internal combustion engine works is, it's like a vacuum cleaner, or, like a pump. Because, that is basically what it is. A...read more

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by Frank Mancuso

My engine is as powerful as four locomotives or to put it bluntly it has about 8000 horse power. Impossible you say. Think about this, my engine consumes 8 gallons of fuel to go 1/4 mile. Impossible you say. It's basic de...read more

by Casey Camp

Ah yes, the workings of the internal combustion engine. To me it is a lot like electricity. How does one explain magic? I have always been amazed at my inability to understand all the modern conveniences we enjoy. ...read more

by 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 th...read more