Internal combustion engine
An internal combustion engine is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal combustion engine, the expansion of the high-temperature and high-pressure gases produced by combustion applies direct force to some component of the engine. The force is typically applied to pistons, turbine blades, a rotor, or a nozzle. This force moves the component over a distance, transforming chemical energy into kinetic energy which is used to propel, move or power whatever the engine is attached to.
Diagram of a cylinder as found in an overhead cam 4-stroke gasoline engine: C – crankshaft E – exhaust camshaft I – inlet camshaft P – piston R – connecting rod S – spark plug V – valves. red: exhaust, blue: intake. W – cooling water jacket gray structure – engine block
Reciprocating engine of a car
Diesel generator for backup power
Bare cylinder block of a V8 engine
Combustion, or burning, is a high-temperature exothermic redox chemical reaction between a fuel and an oxidant, usually atmospheric oxygen, that produces oxidized, often gaseous products, in a mixture termed as smoke. Combustion does not always result in fire, because a flame is only visible when substances undergoing combustion vaporize, but when it does, a flame is a characteristic indicator of the reaction. While activation energy must be supplied to initiate combustion, the heat from a flame may provide enough energy to make the reaction self-sustaining. The study of combustion is known as combustion science.
The flames caused as a result of a fuel undergoing combustion (burning)
Air pollution abatement equipment provides combustion control for industrial processes.
The combustion of methane, a hydrocarbon
Colourized gray-scale composite image of the individual frames from a video of a backlit fuel droplet burning in microgravity