Watch how an Internal Combustion Engine works

Mac77 said:

But on second thought I think we may be wrong

The head reacted like a plastic rather than glass

If it was glass there would have been no reaction at all

Click to expand...

It did look like plastic to me, I was just going off the text.

longview said:

It did look like plastic to me, I was just going off the text.

Click to expand...

I have done a google search and found no reference to what material they used

Lutherf said:

Back in the day a lot of dealerships had cutaway models of their motors on display in the showroom. There obviously wasn't any fuel involved but there was usually a hand crank to show how everything worked.

Click to expand...

I remember seeing those models.
When I was a kid, there was a toy/model called "The Visible V-8".....I think.
I always wanted that toy, but all I got was a stupid Erector Set.
Which was a lot better than Tinker Toys.

longview said:

I am think it was just plexiglass or poly carbonate, it was breaking down from the heat by the end of the video.
I suppose a big slab of Pyrex might work, with some sore of safety cap on it.

Click to expand...

Westinghouse made such an engine with a crystal head of some sort many decades ago. They were interested in the fuel burn characteristics and decided such a contraption was the way to observe it. No, don't have a link. My father, who worked for Westinghouse at the time, told me about it. The thing was in their then East End Shops in Pittsburgh. The facility no longer exists, so the engine probably doesn't either.

longview said:

Slow, you get Cavitation at high speeds and loose cooling.
The cuts could be made with any wet saw, but the holes might be better
using a hot rod. This would create a zone of dense material around the where the bolts went through.
(Of course it may also bake in stress lines, that would fracture under pressure.)

Click to expand...

I imagine the final 10 thousands will be done on a surface grinder rather than a cutting tool if it is glass

humbolt said:

Westinghouse made such an engine with a crystal head of some sort many decades ago. They were interested in the fuel burn characteristics and decided such a contraption was the way to observe it. No, don't have a link. My father, who worked for Westinghouse at the time, told me about it. The thing was in their then East End Shops in Pittsburgh. The facility no longer exists, so the engine probably doesn't either.

Click to expand...

Mercedes-Benz used a high speed camera lens in the cylinder head itself

Mac77 said:

Mercedes-Benz used a high speed camera lens in the cylinder head itself

Click to expand...

It's interesting stuff. I can remember when American auto manufacturers were selling all kinds of head designs they touted as doing this, that or the other. My father told me that there were certain configurations which do result in higher fuel burn efficiency and therefore greater power, but that the actual scope for achieving such things was very narrow. He said most of the claims were pretty much exaggerated, with the exception of the hemispherical head design. That was the reason Westinghouse made the engine I mentioned to start with. The other thing they were interested in was the spark. He also told me that the spark required was minimal, and that while certain plug designs performed better at higher temperatures, the plugs with dual heads (for example) and so on were largely suitable for racing engines and offered no performance benefits on normal engines to speak of. I have no idea if such things remain true with engines today, and my father is no longer around to consult.

radioman said:

I remember seeing those models.
When I was a kid, there was a toy/model called "The Visible V-8".....I think.
I always wanted that toy, but all I got was a stupid Erector Set.
Which was a lot better than Tinker Toys.

Click to expand...

Tinker toys were fun!!

Granted, an Erector Set had "real" building components but if you wanted wheels and/or pulleys then Tinker Toys were the way to do.

Lutherf said:

Tinker toys were fun!!

Granted, an Erector Set had "real" building components but if you wanted wheels and/or pulleys then Tinker Toys were the way to do.

Click to expand...

I dunno, man.
Those Tinker Toys seemed to fit together extremely poorly after awhile. Too loose.
My erector set had a real plug-in electric motor, none of that buying 8 Eveready replacement batteries crap.