Engines

An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one form of energy into mechanical energy.Heat engines burn a fuel to create heat, which is then used to create a force. Electric motors convert electrical energy into mechanical motion; pneumatic motors use compressed air and clockwork motors in wind-up toys use elastic energy. In biological systems, molecular motors, like myosins in muscles, use chemical energy to create forces and eventually motion.

The word engine derives from Old French , from the Latin ingenium–the root of the word . Pre-industrial weapons of war, such as catapults, trebuchets and battering rams, were called siege engines, and knowledge of how to construct them was often treated as a military secret. The word gin, as in cotton gin, is short for engine. Most mechanical devices invented during the industrial revolution were described as engines—the steam engine being a notable example. However, the original steam engines, such as those by Thomas Savery, were not mechanical engines but pumps. In this manner, a fire engine in its original form was merely a water pump, with the engine being transported to the fire by horses.

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