Internal Combustion Engine (2021)
Points and comments are a snapshot, not live.
Interactive 3D explainer of a four-stroke engine from first principles.
The piece builds an inline four-cylinder engine step by step, starting from a simple crank and using animated cross-section diagrams to show the four strokes: intake, compression, power, exhaust. It details the crankshaft, bearings with hydrodynamic lubrication, pistons and rings, and oil passages. The engine displacement formula is V = n · A · S. The piston's motion is not sinusoidal; half a crank turn moves the piston less than half its stroke.
What commenters are saying
Commenters praise the quality of the animations and explanatory depth. Several offer technical corrections: the first animation shows fuel injection, not knocking; the article's use of 'explosion' should be 'controlled deflagration' to avoid confusion with damaging detonation. A split emerges over auto start/stop wear: some cite engineering as solving it, others note specific engine families with issues. A machinist clarifies bearing clearances are 0.0015-0.0025 inches, not 0.015-0.025.