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aviation history
- In history of flight: The generation and application of power: the problem of propulsion
  …19th century approached, the internal-combustion engine emerged as an even more promising aeronautical power plant. The process had begun in 1860, when Étienne Lenoir of Belgium built the first internal-combustion engine, fueled with illuminating gas. In Germany, Nikolaus A. Otto took the next step in 1876, producing a four-stroke engine…
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- In history of flight: From airmail to airlines in the United States
  …of development in modern piston engines. Because liquid-cooled in-line engines offered less frontal surface, they were often favoured by military designers. With these engines, aircraft could be streamlined to improve speed but with a trade-off in complexity and weight because of the requisite coolant, coolant lines, radiator, and associated pumps.…
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combustion process
- In combustion: In internal-combustion engines
  These comprise various engines, gas turbines, turbojets, and ramjets. The Otto engine operates with a mixture compressed in a cylinder by a piston. Shortly before the piston reaches the top the mixture is ignited with a spark, and the flame propagates at a normal velocity into the unburned…
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use of carburetor
- In carburetor
  …device for supplying a spark-ignition engine with a mixture of fuel and air. Components of carburetors usually include a storage chamber for liquid fuel, a choke, an idling (or slow-running) jet, a main jet, a venturi-shaped air-flow restriction, and an accelerator pump. The quantity of fuel in the storage chamber…
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SPECIAL FEATURE

list of engines