И. А. Курбасова Е. И. Силантьева

Internal Combustion Engines
(1) Not many people know the early internal combustion engines to have run on coal gas (каменноугольный газ). As these engines burnt gas, they had to be located near a gas-making plant and we may suppose all of them to have been stationary engines.

(2) When oil had been found in many parts of the world, an engine was designed that was capable of burning liquid fuel obtained from this new substance. Very soon the internal combustion engines became portable power plants, efficient and compact.

(3) There are different kinds of internal combustion en­gines. Not long ago the gasoline engine was the most com­mon type used in spite of its serious drawbacks. The engineers consider the high cost of gasoline to be its chief disadvantage. However, it is probably the high cost of gasoline that has encouraged the construction of diesel engines.

(4) We know the diesel engine to be largely used for heavy duties including railway traction. R. Diesel himself expected his engine to find application on railways as one of the principal kinds of motive power.