How is a four stroke engine driven through the intake, compression and exhaust strokes?

September 07, 2010

How is a four stroke engine driven through the intake, compression and exhaust strokes?

If a four stroke engine is not driven by anything apart from the explosion at the combustion stroke, how does it get through the other 3 stages. Surely, if the combustion stroke is the only stroke that drives the piston, there can’t be enough power to drive THREE MORE STROKES!!!

Please don’t confuse me. I’m only a beginner lol! ;-P

Thanks.

4 Responses to “How is a four stroke engine driven through the intake, compression and exhaust strokes?”

mikenusaf Says:
September 7th, 2010 at 3:29 am
Yes, there is enough. It is helped by the balance of the heavy crank shaft.
TXm42 Says:
September 7th, 2010 at 3:46 am
Inertia.

There’s No “Explosion”
There’s Combustion.

Even school books still teach that engines run on explosions.

A Good Demonstration to display the difference would be a BIrthday Cake or an Oil Lantern

1 Cake with Candles
vs another with sticks of TNT.

1 Lantern fueled by kerosine
vs another fueled by Nitroglycerin
jim Says:
September 7th, 2010 at 4:17 am
All engines have a flywheel that keeps the engine moving. On multi-cylinder engines, the other cylinders firing help keep the engine moving, since only one cylinder fires at a time
The Freak Show Says:
September 7th, 2010 at 4:35 am
Jim is right.

Imagine when you would get a merry-go-round going when you were a kid. You put your energy into the spinning part in pulses. The merry-go-round keeps going around even though you let go. An internal combustion engine does the same thing with the fly wheel. It stores energy to keep the engine turning between power strokes. A heavy fly wheel is harder to get going, but stores more power. A light fly wheel accelerates faster, but has less stored energy. A single cylinder needs the larger fly wheel to get it to the next power stroke. A multi-cylinder engine can get by with a lighter one.