As we move toward shelling and hydrogen cell breakthroughs that could wean us off our addiction to oil , here ’s at least one locomotive innovation from yesteryear that ought to be examine a mo more . The costless - piston locomotive , first devise in 1920 , is flash to build and roughly doubly as efficient as current gasolene engines . Unlike its schematic counterpart , the loose - piston locomotive engine does n’t have a mechanical connect between the plunger and a crankshaft . Instead , magnets at the center of the plunger ’s rod move past metal coil to produce an electrical electric current . The engine ’s configuration grant it to combust fuel quicker , improving efficiency , emissions and well optimized for different fuels . The regretful news : they ’re heavy to command ( variations in combustion cycles can cause poor performance ) and they ’re incredibly loud ( the quick detonation need to be muffled somehow ) . But automakers such as GM and Volvo are already investigating put the engine in future vehicle . Lets hope their foray into this do n’t take as long as their geographic expedition of fuel cellular telephone options . [ Technology ReviewviaTreehugger ]
CarsEnergy EfficiencyEnginesScience
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