Eli5: Why do automobiles operate with diesel or petrol but not with water?
In: Physics
You need something that is flammable. In a car engine, fuel vapor is injected into pistons. The vapor is exploded which forces the piston up and the piston on the opposite end down. These explosions happen rapidly pushing the pistons up and down. These pistons are connected to a shaft which spins and is connected to the axeles which spin the wheels.
Water can’t create these high pressured explosions.
There have been cars run on water in the past. The very first cars in fact were steam powered and there have been experimental cars which use a process called electrolysis to extract the hydrogen from water to use in a combustion engine, but these cars aren’t as practical and efficient as standard fossil fueled combustion cars. If you want to use a combustion engine it’s best to use something that’s highly flammable from the start.
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