When it comes to car and truck engines, not much has changed since Nikolaus Otto invented the modern internal combustion engine in 1876. But the internal combustion engine could, at least theoretically, be in for a big change.
Plasma Physics
Dec 19, 2019
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4
In a recent paper in Science Advances, researchers from the University of Amsterdam present new experimental insight into how lubrication works. They have developed a new method using fluorescent molecules to directly observe ...
General Physics
Dec 13, 2019
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6
The hot, sometimes high-pressure, yet smooth conditions behind reflected shockwaves are the ideal environment for studying the chemical complexities of combustion.
Analytical Chemistry
Dec 10, 2019
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2
Later this month a Texus rocket will launch from Esrange, Sweden, that will travel about 260 km upwards and fall back to Earth offering researchers six minutes of zero gravity. Their experiment? Burning metal powder to understand ...
General Physics
Nov 08, 2019
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13
Inhaling dust that contains fly ash particles from coal combustion has been linked to lung and heart disease, cancer, nervous system disorders and other ill effects.
Environment
Oct 22, 2019
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90
The problem of petroleum depletion becomes more and pertinent every day. As deficits arise, non-traditional and heavy oils, including bitumen and shales, emerge as the focus of extensive research. Globally, they account for ...
Materials Science
Oct 03, 2019
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14
Understanding how fire spreads and behaves in space is crucial for the safety of future astronauts and for understanding and controlling fire here on Earth.
Space Exploration
Sep 13, 2019
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167
At the end of May, the final meeting of the "Horizon 2020" project "GasOn" with the EU Commission took place in Brussels. The aim of this EU project was the further development of gas engines for cars and vans. Around 20 ...
Engineering
Jun 20, 2019
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New insights about how to understand and ultimately control the chemistry of ignition behavior and pollutant formation have been discovered in research led by Sandia National Laboratories. The discovery eventually will lead ...
Energy & Green Tech
Jun 10, 2019
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Could the health benefits and reduced costs to healthcare systems be enough to justify subsidizing charging infrastructure to allow society to switch from the internal combustion engine to electric vehicles faster than current ...
Energy & Green Tech
May 16, 2019
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Combustion (English pronunciation: /kəmˈbʌs.tʃən /) or burning is the sequence of exothermic chemical reactions between a fuel and an oxidant accompanied by the production of heat and conversion of chemical species. The release of heat can result in the production of light in the form of either glowing or a flame. Fuels of interest often include organic compounds (especially hydrocarbons) in the gas, liquid or solid phase.
In a complete combustion reaction, a compound reacts with an oxidizing element, such as oxygen or fluorine, and the products are compounds of each element in the fuel with the oxidizing element. For example:
A simple example can be seen in the combustion of hydrogen and oxygen, which is a commonly used reaction in rocket engines:
The result is water vapor.
Complete combustion is almost impossible to achieve. In reality, as actual combustion reactions come to equilibrium, a wide variety of major and minor species will be present such as carbon monoxide and pure carbon (soot or ash). Additionally, any combustion in atmospheric air, which is 78% nitrogen, will also create several forms of nitrogen oxides.
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