An engine is a mechanical device that produces some form of output from a given input. Sometimes it's called motor as in motorvehicle. Military engines included siege engines, large catapults, trebuchets and battering rams.
An engine whose purpose is to produce kinetic energy output from a fuel source is called a prime mover; alternatively, a motor is a device which produces kinetic energy from a preprocessed "fuel" (such as electricity, a flow of hydraulic fluid or compressed air).
A car has a starter motor, a windscreen wiper motor, windscreen washer motor, a fuel pump motor and motors to adjust the wing mirrors from within the car and a (motorised) radio antenna - but the power plant that propels the car is an engine.
Usage of the term "Engine"[]
Originally an engine was a mechanical device that converted force into motion. Military devices such as catapults are referred to as siege engines. The term "gin" as in cotton gin is recognised as a short form of the Old French word engin, in turn from the Latin ingenium, related to ingenious. Most devices used in the industrial revolution were referred to as an engine, and this is where the steam engine gained its name.
In more modern usage, the term is used to describe devices that perform mechanical work, follow-ons to the original steam engine. In most cases the work is supplied by exerting a torque, which is used to operate other machinery, generate electricity, pump water or compressed gas. In the context of propulsion systems, an air breathing engine is one that uses atmospheric air to oxidise the fuel carried, rather than carrying an oxidiser, as in a rocket.
The term is used in computer science in "search engine", "3-D graphics game engine", "rendering engine" and "text-to-speech engine", even though these "engines" are not mechanical and cause no mechanical action (this usage may have been inspired by the "difference engine", an early mechanical computing device).
See also[]
- Heat engine
- Reciprocating engine
- External-combustion engine
- Steam engine
- Steam turbine
- Stirling engine
- Internal combustion engine
- Rocket
- Hot bulb engine
- Diesel engine
- Petrol engine (Gasoline engine) in some countries
- TVO engine
- HCCI engine
- Spacecraft propulsion
- Aircraft engine
- Air engine
- Car engine
- Motorcycle engine
- Model engine
- Outboard motor
Manufacturers of Engines[]
- for more details see the List of Engine Manufacturers
- For collections of Preserved Internal Combustion Engines, see List of Engine museums.
- Alisa Craig
- W.H. Allen
- Belliss & Morcom
- Blackstone
- Caterpillar
- Crossley
- Cummins
- David Brown
- Detroit Diesel
- Foden
- Ford- Engines and skid units used by many manufacturers
- Gardner
- GM General Motors
- Lister
- Lister Petter
- JCB
- John Deere
- National Gas Engine Co.
- Paxman
- Pelapone
- Perkins - formerly a Massey Ferguson subsidary, now aCaterpillar Group company
- Petter
- Ruston (engine builder)
- Ruston & Hornsby
- Sulzer
- Tangye
- Worthington Simpson
Reference[]
Extract of Wikipedia article.
External links[]
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