Apart from the very curious, not many people ask why diesel engines, compared to gasoline, run higher compression ratios. The argument is reasonably straightforward and starts with fuel ...

A.Here's a pressure-volume diagram for a combustion engine. Although rough, it is an approximation of the so-called air-standard cycle. '' Point (a) is at atmospheric pressure, after which the air is ...

Any certified gearhead knows that diesel engines do not use spark plugs. But why not? If power in an engine is created by combustion or explosion of flammable liquids, won't a spark plug in a diesel ...

You might have heard about high compression ratios, but what exactly are they, and what kind of effect do they have on an ...