Definition of Engine
What is engine?
Answers
Definition of Engine
the part of a vehicle that produces power to make the vehicle move
a machine that uses the energy from liquid fuel or steam to produce movement:
- a jet engine
- a car engine
- My car's been having engine trouble recently.
something that provides power, often economic power, for other things:
- For much of the 19th century Britain was the workshop of the world and the engine of economic growth.
- The health-care industry has been an engine of growth.
a machine that uses the energy from fuel or steam to produce movement:
- The car has a four-cylinder engine.
- The plane was forced to land because of engine problems.
What is engine?
An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one form of energy into mechanical energy. Heat engines, like the internal combustion engine, burn a fuel to create heat which is then used to do work. Electric motors convert electrical energy into mechanical motion, pneumatic motors use compressed air, and clockwork motors in wind-up toys use elastic energy. In biological systems, molecular motors, like myosins in muscles, use chemical energy to create forces and eventually motion.
Terminology
The word engine derives from Old French engin, from the Latin ingenium–the root of the word ingenious. Pre-industrial weapons of war, such as catapults, trebuchets and battering rams, were called siege engines, and knowledge of how to construct them was often treated as a military secret. The word gin, as in cotton gin, is short for engine. Most mechanical devices invented during the industrial revolution were described as engines—the steam engine being a notable example. However, the original steam engines, such as those by Thomas Savery, were not mechanical engines but pumps. In this manner, a fire engine in its original form was merely a water pump, with the engine being transported to the fire by horses.
In modern usage, the term engine typically describes devices, like steam engines and internal combustion engines, that burn or otherwise consume fuel to perform mechanical work by exerting a torque or linear force (usually in the form of thrust). Devices converting heat energy into motion are commonly referred to simply as engines. Examples of engines which exert a torque include the familiar automobile gasoline and diesel engines, as well as turboshafts. Examples of engines which produce thrust include turbofans and rockets.
