Jet Engines Vs. Car Engines
Typical car engines (internal combustion engines, or "ICE") and jet engines are commonly used power plants in their specialized fields. Both have their virtues and vices, and both have been used on land, air and sea vehicles.
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History
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Nikolaus Otto worked in conjunction with Daimler/Maybach to produce the first practical four-stroke car engine in 1876. The first jet-powered aircraft was the 1938 Heinkel He 178.
Function and Power
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A car's internal combustion engine works by a series of controlled, intermittent fuel explosions that cause the drive shaft of the car to turn, thus making the wheels turn; jet engines work by a process of continuous fuel combustion and propulsion that propels the plane or other vehicle forward. Car engines are measured in horsepower, and jet engines are rated by pounds of thrust.
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Weight
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ICE engines are generally two to three times heavier than jet engines per unit of power produced.
Size
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Because they do not require a valve-train or bulky rotating assembly, jet engines are much more compact that gasoline engines.
Economy
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The only real drawback to jet engines is the fact that they produce very little torque per RPM (revolutions per minute) and must spin very fast in order to idle or cruise. This makes a jet engine less than half as fuel efficient as a gasoline engine of the equivalent horsepower.
Powerband
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Gasoline engines accelerate very quickly and taper off with speed. Jet engines tend have low initial acceleration, but build massive power with velocity.
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References
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- Photo Credit Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Les Chatfield
