The following sections of this BookRags Literature Study Guide is offprint from Gale's For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare & Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources.
(c)1998-2002; (c)2002 by Gale. Gale is an imprint of The Gale Group, Inc., a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Gale and Design and Thomson Learning are trademarks used herein under license.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction: "Social Concerns", "Thematic Overview", "Techniques", "Literary Precedents", "Key Questions", "Related Titles", "Adaptations", "Related Web Sites". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults: "About the Author", "Overview", "Setting", "Literary Qualities", "Social Sensitivity", "Topics for Discussion", "Ideas for Reports and Papers". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
All other sections in this Literature Study Guide are owned and copyrighted by BookRags, Inc.
A piston is a device that is forced up and down within a cylinder, creating motion in engines and other similar mechanisms.
The use of pistons can be traced to the first century A.D., when Greek engineers developed pneumatic tools (utilizing compressed air) containing pistons. Later, around 1650, Otto von Guericke built an air pump that utilized a piston.
Dutch scientist Christiaan Huygens built a dangerous gunpowder engine around 1680 that used the power from an explosion to drive a piston through a cylinder. Huygens's assistant, French physicist Denis Papin, suggested that the condensation of steam would create a vacuum in a cylinder into which a piston could be drawn, and in 1690 he built an engine based on this concept. Huygens and Papin were among the earliest contributors to the eventual development of an internal combustion engine.
Of course, it is within the internal combustion engine that the piston was put to its most practical use. The piston slides up within the cylinder to compress fuel vapor. When this is ignited, it explodes and drives the piston down, creating usable power. In any of these piston engines, the reciprocating power of the piston is converted into rotary power through the use of the connecting rod and crankshaft. This internal combustion engine process is the same whether the engine is fueled by gasoline, diesel fuel, or some other combustible fuel.