Piston engines are the heart of many machines we use today, from cars and airplanes to industrial machinery and motorcycles.

The piston and connecting rod are one piece ... Everything you’d associate with a steam engine is there, but just barely. The tooling needed to accomplish this feat is pretty impressive too.

The piston and connecting rod are one piece ... Everything you’d associate with a steam engine is there, but just barely. The tooling needed to accomplish this feat is pretty impressive too.

Instead of a piston, a plastic bead floating in water ... "We've developed the world's smallest steam engine, or to be more precise the smallest Stirling engine, and found that the machine really ...

In 1712 Thomas Newcomen built an engine that made use of a piston, and, beginning in 1769, James Watt improved on steam engine design with a string of patents that included innovations such as ...

Greek engineer Hero of Alexandria designs the first steam engine; it has a pedestal ... he conceives of a piston and cylinder concept using steam. The first vehicle to move under its own power ...

Piston rings improved efficiency. In those days, it was more about steam engines and less about internal combustion. Piston rings provide cylinder and combustion chamber sealing, which keeps heat ...

However, steam engines had their own set of shortcomings ... The ability of the atmospheric pressure to force the piston down is restricted by the use of a flywheel, crankshaft, and rod during ...

These kits range from simple engines that demonstrate how ... the heat generated boils the water, and the steam generated moves the plastic piston. Because of the open flame and numerous small ...

They’re one-stroke air-powered engines. Similar to many steam engines, each stroke—up or down—is a power stroke. That makes them pretty dissimilar to automotive engines but still very cool ...

Papin's ideas surrounding a cylinder and piston steam engine had not previously been used to build a working engine, but by 1705, Savery had turned Papin's ideas into a useful invention.