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Engine

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about a machine to convert energy into useful mechanical motion. For other uses of engine, see Engine (disambiguation). For other uses of motor, see Motor (disambiguation).
A V6 internal combustion engine from aMercedes car

An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert energy into useful mechanical motion.[1][2] Heat engines, including internal combustion engines and external combustion engines(such as steam engines) burn a fuel to create heat, which then creates motion. Electric motors convert electrical energy into mechanical motion, pneumatic motors use compressed airand otherssuch as clockwork motors in windup toysuse elastic energy. In biological systems, molecular motors, like myosins in muscles, use chemical energy to create motion.

1 Terminology 2 History

o o o o

2.1 Antiquity 2.2 Medieval 2.3 Industrial Revolution 2.4 Automobiles

2.4.1 Horizontally opposed pistons 2.4.2 Advancement 2.4.3 Increasing power 2.4.4 Combustion efficiency 2.4.5 Engine configuration

3 Heat engine

3.1 Combustion engine

3.1.1 Internal combustion engine 3.1.2 External combustion engine 3.1.3 Air-breathing combustion engines 3.1.4 Environmental effects 3.1.5 Air quality

3.2 Noncombustive heat engines

4 Nonthermal chemically powered motor 5 Electric motor

6 Physically powered motor

o o

6.1 Pneumatic motor 6.2 Hydraulic motor

7 Sound levels 8 Efficiency 9 Engines by use 10 Engine speed 11 See also 12 Notes 13 References 14 External links

Terminology[edit]
"Engine" was originally a term for any mechanical device that converts force into motion. Hence, pre-industrial weapons such as catapults, trebuchets and battering rams were called "siege engines". The word "gin," as in "cotton gin", is short for "engine." The word derives from Old French engin, from the Latin ingenium, which is also the root of the word ingenious. Most mechanical devices invented during the industrial revolution were described as enginesthe steam engine being a notable example.[citation needed] In modern usage, the term engine typically describes devices, like steam engines and internal combustion engines, that burn or otherwise consume fuel to perform mechanical work by exerting a torque or linear force to drive machinery that generates electricity, pumps water, or compresses gas. In the context of propulsion systems, an air-breathing engine is one that uses atmospheric air to oxidise the fuel rather than supplying an independent oxidizer, as in a rocket. When the internal combustion engine was invented, the term "motor" was initially used to distinguish it from the steam enginewhich was in wide use at the time, powering locomotives and other vehicles such as steam rollers. "Motor" and "engine" later came to be used interchangeably in casual discourse. However, technically, the two words have different meanings. An engine is a device that burns or otherwise consumes fuel, changing its chemical composition, whereas a motor is a device driven by electricity, which does not change the chemical composition of its energy source.[3] A heat engine may also serve as a prime movera component that transforms the flow or changes in pressure of a fluid into mechanical energy.[4] An automobile powered by an internal combustion engine may make use of various motors and pumps, but ultimately all such devices derive their power from the engine. Another way of looking at it is that a motor receives power from an external source, and then converts it into mechanical energy, while an engine creates power from pressure (derived directly from the explosive force of combustion

or other chemical reaction, or secondarily from the action of some such force on other substances such as air, water, or steam).[5] Devices converting heat energy into motion are commonly referred to simply as engines.[6]

History[edit]
Antiquity[edit]
Simple machines, such as the club and oar (examples of the lever), are prehistoric. More complex engines using human power, animal power, water power, wind power and even steam power date back to antiquity. Human power was focused by the use of simple engines, such as the capstan, windlass or treadmill, and with ropes, pulleys, and block and tackle arrangements; this power was transmitted usually with the forces multiplied and the speed reduced. These were used in cranes and aboard ships in Ancient Greece, as well as in mines, water pumps and siege engines in Ancient Rome. The writers of those times, including Vitruvius, Frontinus and Pliny the Elder, treat these engines as commonplace, so their invention may be more ancient. By the 1st century AD, cattle and horses were used in mills, driving machines similar to those powered by humans in earlier times. According to Strabo, a water powered mill was built in Kaberia of the kingdom of Mithridates during the 1st century BC. Use of water wheels in mills spread throughout the Roman Empire over the next few centuries. Some were quite complex, with aqueducts, dams, and sluices to maintain and channel the water, along with systems of gears, or toothed-wheels made of wood and metal to regulate the speed of rotation. More sophisticated small devices, such as theAntikythera Mechanism used complex trains of gears and dials to act as calendars or predict astronomical events. In a poem by Ausonius in the 4th century AD, he mentions a stone-cutting saw powered by water. Hero of Alexandria is credited with many such wind and steam powered machines in the 1st century AD, including the Aeolipile and the vending machine, often these machines were associated with worship, such as animated altars and automated temple doors.

Medieval[edit]
Medieval Muslim engineers employed gears in mills and water-raising machines, and used dams as a source of water power to provide additional power to watermills and water-raising machines.[7] In the medieval Islamic world, such advances made it possible to mechanize many industrial tasks previously carried out by manual labour. In 1206, al-Jazari employed a crank-conrod system for two of his water-raising machines. A rudimentary steam turbine device was described by Taqi al-Din[7] in 1551 and by Giovanni Branca[8] in 1629.[9] In the 13th century, the solid rocket motor was invented in China. Driven by gunpowder, this, the simplest form of internal combustion engine was unable to deliver sustained power, but was useful for propelling weaponry at

high speeds towards enemies in battle and for fireworks. After invention, this innovation spread throughout Europe.

Industrial Revolution[edit]
Boulton & Watt engine of 1788

The Watt steam engine was the first type of steam engine to make use of steam at a pressure just above atmospheric to drive the piston helped by a partial vacuum. Improving on the design of the 1712Newcomen steam engine, the Watt steam engine, developed sporadically from 1763 to 1775, was a great step in the development of the steam engine. Offering a dramatic increase in fuel efficiency,James Watt's design became synonymous with steam engines, due in no small part to his business partner, Matthew Boulton. It enabled rapid development of efficient semi-automated factories on a previously unimaginable scale in places where waterpower was not available. Later development led to steam locomotives and great expansion of railway transportation. As for internal combustion piston engines, these were tested in France in 1807 by de Rivaz and independently, by the Nipce brothers . They were theoretically advanced by Carnot in 1824.[citation needed] In 1853-57 Eugenio Barsanti and Felice Matteucci invented and patented an engine using the free-piston principle that was possibly the first 4-cycle engine.[10] The Otto cycle in 1877 was capable of giving a far higher power to weight ratio than steam engines and worked much better for many transportation applications such as cars and aircraft.

Automobiles[edit]
The first commercially successful automobile, created by Karl Benz, added to the interest in light and powerful engines. The lightweight petrol internal combustion engine, operating on a four-stroke Otto cycle, has been the most successful for light automobiles, while the more efficient Diesel engine is used for trucks and buses. However, in recent years, turbo Diesel engines have become increasingly popular, especially outside of the United States, even for quite small cars.

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