Fuel into Power

Abstract

The earliest forms of internal combustion engine used gunpowder as a fuel and a very wide range of solid, liquid and gaseous fuels have been used at one time or another. These are as diverse as coal dust and hydrogen, and serve to show that if a substance will burn in air or oxygen it can be used in an engine, even if not very practical. However, from a practical point of view liquid fuels are the only ones suitable for transport, storage and sale to the public, so that all car engines run on a volatile fuel such as petrol, oil or paraffin.