Internal Combustion Engines

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The diesel engine is a
compression-ignition engine. This article emphasizes the spark-ignition engine.
The invention and early development of internal-combustion engines are
usually credited to three Germans. Nikolaus Otto patented and built (1876) the
first such engine; Karl Benz built the first automobile to be powered by such an
engine (1885); and Gottlieb Daimler designed the first high-speed internal-
combustion engine (1885) and carburetor. Rudolf Diesel invented a successful
compression-ignition engine (the diesel engine) in 1892.
The operation of the internal-combustion reciprocating engine employs
either a four-stroke cycle or a two-stroke cycle. A stroke is one continuous
movement of the piston within the cylinder.
In the four-stroke cycle, also known as the Otto cycle, the downward
movement of a piston located within a cylinder creates a partial vacuum. Valves
located inside the combustion chamber are controlled by the motion of a camshaft
connected to ...

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contains several subsystems:
ignition, fuel, cooling, and exhaust systems.
The ignition system of a spark-ignition engine consists of the sparking
device (the spark plug); the connecting wire from the plug to the distributor;
and the distributor, which distributes the spark to the proper cylinder at the
proper time. The distributor receives a high-energy spark from a coil, or
magneto, that converts low-voltage energy to high-voltage energy. Some ignition
systems employ transistorized circuitry, which is generally more efficient and
less troublesome than the mechanical breaker-point system used in the past. Most
ignition systems require an external electrical energy source in the form ...

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