What is the chemistry behind how combustion engines work?
In: Chemistry
Chemically speaking, you are combining a hydrocarbon (fuel) and oxygen, producing CO2 and water vapour as byproducts
e.g. methane is the simplest:
CH4 +2O2 = CO2 + 2 H2O
the other thing it produces is (a lot of) heat, which has the effect of increasing the pressure of the resultant gas mixture, which is what’s used to drive the pistons
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