h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/a625367

Looking around, I found no article on the very ordinary car engine! So, with my limited knowledge and a little bit of research, I submit to you, fellow Researchers, an article covering the standard automobile engine (four-stroke), two-stroke engines, and diesel engines. Perhaps an entry on the Wankle rotary engine is needed, as well...

Nice, to see a entry being written due to a lack of existing information. I thinks it well worth getting into the guide. But does anyone have any technical comments?

Good work

The suck-.... alternative list is a nice touch

No technical comments from me either (and I *do* know how the engines work) It still makes me wonder that the smallest and the biggest combustion engines are Diesels! Like, those with 0.5cm3 used in remote controlled aircraft, and the ship engines where 3 people could easily have a party within the cylinder


Bossel

* Waiting for the Wankel (not Wankle) entry to appear *

Oh, just a typo: shouldn't it be 'carburator' rather than 'carbureator'?

Sorry Bossel, it ought to be carburettor and while I'm on the subject, carbeuration ought to be carburetion

My only other comments for this article is that the 'basic design' section seems to be a bit unclear. It's fine if you know what you're talking about but for those who don't it might be a bit confusing. A diagram of a cylinder might be helpful and I think you need to be careful about your driveshaft if you'll pardon the expression, the pistons turn the crankshaft which subsequently turn the driveshaft via the clutch and gearbox which then drives the wheels (in rear wheel drive cars). It might also be worth mentioning how the opening and closing of the valves are controlled (traditionally camshaft-pushrod-rockers etc. and the more modern overhead cams) and since you've got alternators and sparkplugs in there, a quick mention of distributors wouldn't go amiss either.

Other than those minor points, this is an interesting and well written article

Xuenyl

I don't mean to rain on anyone's parade, as this is already a good entry, but I think this might be better handled as a university project.

The reason for this is that I think that it needs extending, and that I think those extensions are best done as a set of articles.

first, it could do with being contrasted with external combustion engines. These are still under active developement due to their usefullness. examples include thesteam engine, and the stirling engine.

second, I think if you are going to have 2 strokes, 4 strokes and diesels being mentioned, you absolutely have to include the wankel (or rotary) engine.

There is also the history aspect.

2 strokes were developed first (as I remember), and due to the deficiencies in the design (which you have covered well) this lead to developing the 4 stroke.

4 strokes work well, but suffer from poor combustion, so diesels and rotaries were developed. both of these need good material science to work at their best, and thus are actively under development.

diesels use higher compression to get better efficiencies, while wankel engines use multiple stages simultaniously in the same cylinder (bad choice of word, but I can't recall the right one at the moment) to produce the same effect at lower compressions.

both have advantages, both have disadvantages.

keep up the good work.

I was just going for a simple explanation of the workings of an engine, but if you think something more detailed would be in order, perhaps a couple of links to more detailed sources?

And thanks for the spell checking!

Perhaps you're right about the University project... how does one go about bringing this to the University's attention?

first, ask the scouts not to pick this entry.

then pop over to the university admissions office, and ask them to make it an official project (presumably about engines).

the admissions office is at
http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/University-Recruit

ps if you get the project, you might want to link your entries to the project about jet enginges where appropriate.

after it is accepted, place a link here to the project index.

I think that about covers it.

oh, by the way, don't submit any university project entries to peer review. they go through a different process so as not to muck up the interlinking.

ps here is an example of a project that went through exactly that process.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A584525 the intelligence project.

A Uni project is supposed to consist of a handful of entries... what should they be then?

there is a reasonable entry on the four stroke, another on the two stroke, another on the rotary (or wankel) engine, another on the diesel, the overview which can contrast with external combustion engines, which leads on to sterling engines and steam engines.

you can also link to the turbine engine, which has been used in experimental cars, which could also link with fuel cell electric, solar electric, battery electric, hydrogen, lpg and methanol powered cars, and a whole host of other experimental cars that are only waiting for the petrol to get dear enough for them to be viable. (fuel crisis 1970's was dear enough).

if those are not enough, then I am sure that with a little thought, I can probably double the size of that list.

but seriously, the five mentioned up to the overview in the first paragraph should be enough for a university project. the rest are just optional extras (although if you do contrast internal and external combustion engines, you really need the steam engine and the sterling engine to round it out).

Alright, school's just started and I have a new job, but what the hell?? Might as well try and make this a University project.

The scouts can now overlook this thread, I'll start bugging the Uni admissions office...

Unfortunately, I know nothing about steam engines, rotary engines, and the more esoteric types of engines... anyone care to help?

On my way to the Uni!

sign me up, and I will add as much as I can.
let me know when the project starts.

sign me up, and I will add as much as I can.
let me know when the project starts.

I got approval! Project starts on Monday, Sept. 17... I guess the conversation should shift over to the project page, then... http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A629417

Thanks in advance for any help!

Editorial Note: This conversation has been moved from 'Peer Review' to 'Internal-Combustion Engines'.

Hi folks,

is entry's now a part of the University project at http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A629417