[lo bux racer]

No, the #1 power thief is a non-adiabatic thermal cycle. The exhaust is also hot. You lose about 1/3 of the energy to the cooling system, 1/3 to the exhaust and get about 1/3 in kinetic energy. An adiabatic engine would be cold to the touch, have ambient temperature exhaust, and no cooling system would be needed. It would also be 100% thermally efficient. It is the holy grail of engine design, and the closest man has come is some diesels that are just a bit over 50% thermally efficient. So, as engines get better, they get colder.

 

[lo bux racer]

Originally posted by Ryan'sTc@Jul 13 2005, 06:12 AM
So your saying the engine would retain all heat to make more energy?

The ideal engine converts all the heat available from the fuel to kinetic energy. It doesn't retain any heat at all, it turns it all into motion.