combustion engine has come a long way. part 1

​In an age where we have begun to embrace the electric car as the new future of transportation, I think it's important to remember that most of the population will continue to drive Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles for quite some time. I love the new all electric car technology, but I think that a lot of respect is still due for the brilliant engineering and science that has brought the automobile to the place it is today. I'm going to discuss in a series of articles the wonder of the ICE vehicle that most of us enjoy driving.

---

In essence, the start of the vehicle is the idea of making fire. The key is turned, and BOOM...you have fire! (Hopefully! If you don't, call us). The key thing about it though, is that it is a series of very controlled fires created in rapid succession. In short, explosions. However, purists refer to it as a 'burn'.This is because the compressed mix is lit by a spark on one end and the flame travels through the space creating rapid expansion. Granted, I'm not telling you anything you don't know, but bear with me, I promise it will get better.
The first steps of the technology was to harness this into a power that can be used. First, the engine has to take in a measured amount of fuel and air, momentarily seal it up in a can, compress it, then light it in a matter of milliseconds. Then, it must get rid of the burnt soot and do it again. There are a lot of other factors that come into play to keep an engine running properly, but the combustion part is the key to the energy that is used to drive the wheels. This is the part that is being replaced by electric motors that drive the wheels in electric cars. Therefore, to truly respect the technology that has come into play, we should compare the source of power and how it's used.

Read More