The Internal Combustion Engine
lust as the human body converts the calories in the food it consumes to produce energy, the internal combustion engine converts fuel and air to power. The systems which support the internal combustion engine can also be compared in their functioning to systems of the body.
Respiration enables us to bring in oxygen and rid the body of carbon dioxide. The car also has an intake and exhaust system, and one of the waste products of the engine's cycle is carbon monoxide. When we run fast, we breathe harder. Similarly, as a car's speed in creases so does its air intake. The lubricating system has a network which reaches all parts of the engine just as the human circulatory system nourishes every organ and limb; and the cooling system is as necessary to the car as sweating is to humans.
The internal combustion engine burns fuel within the cylinders. The expansion of the burning fuel pushes the pistons downward in the cylinders, activating the crankshaft through the use of connecting rods.
The crankshaft, which handles all of the engine's power output, changes the reciprocating, or up-and-down, motion of the pistons into rotary motion. Attached to the rear of the crankshaft is a heavy
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