ChatterBank12 mins ago
Internal combustion
1 Answers
What's the difference in how petrol and diesel engines work? And why do lorries and other larger vehicles use diesel rather than petrol?
Answers
Only 1 answer
Best Answer
No best answer has yet been selected by mother. Once a best answer has been selected, it will be shown here.
For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.
In a petrol engine the mixture is compressed about 9 times and ignited by a spark, in a diesel the mixture is compressed about 20 times and the heat of the compression is sufficient to ignite the mixture. (The original diesel used coal dust but it was not a success). A higher compression ratio is more efficient so fuel consumption is lower - and the absence of the electrical system can improve reliability.
Only 1 answer
