Throughout the history of humanity, mankind has come up with ingenious ways to innovate and create whether out of necessity or just convenience. Few inventions however, are as consequential as the creation of the internal combustion engine and the world-changing effects that would follow suit.
The first usage of combustion as a means for locomotion was actually considered external combustion. Designed in 1672 by Catholic missionary Ferdinand Verbiest for then Chinese emperor K’ang Hsi the invention was a small two foot long cart propelled by boiling water in a basin, then shooting the steam backwards, propelling the cart; essentially creating the world’s first toy car.
The first known internal combustion engine (i.c.e) known as the De Rivaz engine was created over 130 years later in 1804. Created by Francois Isaac De Rivas the engine worked by igniting a hydrogen-oxygen fuel source with a spark, causing a small explosion and forcing down a piston, very similar to most modern piston engines. In 1807, he placed the engine in carriage and successfully created the first automobile powered by an internal combustion engine.
For those who may be confused about the differences between internal and external combustion engines, internal combustion is when a fuel source is added and then forced to ignite, sending force and pressure in the form of gases to move a reciprocating object; in many cases a piston, inside of an enclosed structure. External combustion burns fuel in seperate vessel which is then used to produce a pressure (most often in the form of steam) that powers the engine (think of a coal powered train).
The i.c.e has a multitude of uses including trains, airplanes and ships, but by far its most important and most used application is the automobile, the most ground-breaking of all being the passenger car.
The first car (although under some dispute) is widely credited to Karl Benz (maybe you’ve heard of his niche company Mercedes-Benz) for his 1885 creation, the Benz Patent-Motorwagon. This vehicle used a single-cylinder Otto cycle (four stroke) engine of which almost all modern cars still use.
The Otto cycle engine, named for it’s creation in 1876 by inventor Nikolaus Otto operates using four distinct movements or “strokes”; intake, compression, combustion and exhaust.
On the intake stroke, a piston is pushed downwards, and the intake valves of the cylinder open, allowing the air and fuel mixture to enter the cylinder. During compression, the valves close, and the piston pushes upwards to squeeze the fuel mixture and create energy primed for ignition. In combustion (colloquially known as the “power” stroke), the air and fuel mix is ignited (most often by a spark plug) and pushes the piston downwards of which this momentum is what actually propels the shafts that move the wheels. Finally, in the exhaust stroke, the exhaust valve is opened and the piston pushes back upwards to clear the cylinder of the left over gases and products of combustion.
There are many forms of internal combustion with many different applications that range from extremely niche uses to mundane, everyday applications that the world is absolutely dependent on to keep moving.
