I read that a massive portion of usable energy is wasted and turned to heat instead of being used to turn the crankshaft — would there be like any way of reducing the heat/cooling the engine so you could get 50-70% thermal efficiency?
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Internal combustion engines are named that because they have a fire in them that makes heat. The heat is used by the engine to make forces to move the car. Heat is a form of energy that is very useful, but it is complicated to convert it to other forms. So most of the energy, “leaks out,” instead of moving the car. Some examples of the leakage are: some heat can’t be used because it is too, “cold,” to be used and some heat is lost due to things moving and rubbing on other things. When you’re older, it might be fun to talk about the Otto cycle and do some math together.
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