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Definition: internal combustion engine from Dictionary of Energy

Transportation. an engine in which the process of combustion takes place in a cylinder or cylinders within the engine; the working fluid is a fuel and air mixture, which reacts to form combustion products and is then exhausted; e.g., a gasoline or diesel engine, See next page.

internal-combustion engine

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
one in which combustion of the fuel takes place in a confined space, producing expanding gases that are used directly to provide mechanical power. Such engines are classified as reciprocating or rotary, spark ignition or compression ignition, and two-stroke or four-stroke; the most familiar combination, used from automobiles to lawn mowers, is the reciprocating, spark-ignited, four-stroke gasoline engine. Other types of internal-combustion engines include the reaction engine (see jet propulsion , rocket ), and the gas turbine . Engines are rated by their maximum horsepower, which is usually reached a little below the speed at which undue mechanical stresses are developed. The most common internal-combustion engine is the piston-type gasoline engine used in most automobiles. The confined space in which combustion occurs is called a cylinder. The cylinders are now usually arranged in one of four ways: a single row with the centerlines of the cylinders vertical (in-line engine); a double…
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Engine in which fuel is burned inside, so that the gases formed can produce motion, widely used in automobiles . It may be a two-stroke engine or a four-stroke engine . In the most common type of engine, a mixture of petroleum vapour and air is ignited by a spark. The gases produced in the explosion…
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Full text Article Internal Combustion Engine

From Encyclopedia of World Trade: From Ancient Times to the Present Full text Article A-Z Entries
A mechanical device in which the combustion of fuel in a small area produces gases that expand to generate power. The most common types of the internal combustion engine are the reciprocating, spark-ignited, four-stroke gasoline engines (used in automobiles); jet propulsion engines; rocket engines; …
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Full text Article internal-combustion engine

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
Cross section showing one cylinder of a...
Any engine in which a fuel-air mixture is burned in the engine proper so that the hot gaseous products of combustion act directly on the surfaces of its moving parts, such as those of pistons ( see piston and cylinder ) or turbine rotor blades. Internal-combustion engines include gasoline engines , …
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Full text Article internal-combustion engine

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
one in which combustion of the fuel takes place in a confined space, producing expanding gases that are used directly to provide mechanical power. Such engines are classified as reciprocating or rotary, spark ignition or compression ignition, and two-stroke or four-stroke; the most familiar…
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Full text Article The Internal Combustion Engine

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Introduction The steam engine was the first reliable source of power. By the early 1800s, the steam engine had developed to the point where it could propel carriages along the road at reasonable speeds, and undertake long journeys. But the quest was on for a lighter, more powerful engine. Lebon's…
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Full text Article Internal Combustion Engine

From The Oxford Encyclopedia of the History of American Science, Medicine, and Technology
Internal combustion engines detonate a fuel–air mixture in a combustion chamber and direct the force of the resulting explosion to move pistons or the blades of a turbine. Although internal combustion engines have found their greatest use in motor vehicles—a broad category that includes road…
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Full text Article internal combustion engine

From Environmental History and Global Change: A Dictionary of Environmental History
The internal combustion engine was developed in the late C19. Prior to this horses had dominated urban and rural transport, each horse requiring c.2 ha of land a year for fodder. By 1995 there were half a billion motor vehicles in the world. In the USA by 1990 there were 5.5 million km of surfaced…
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The internal combustion engine, “the” motor of the early 20th century economy, has brought far-reaching changes to society that enabled convenient and affordable individual transportation. The conversion of chemical energy to mechanical work is accomplished via combustion of mostly hydrocarbon fuels…
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Full text Article internal-combustion engine

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
(Animation © RM) articles…
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4-stroke cycle engine. [Reproduced with...
Born in the nineteenth century, the internal combustion piston engine did not come of age until the twentieth century. Through a long stream of refinements and expansion into a variety of sizes, shapes, and types, this device must be considered among the most influential technological developments…
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