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Born from Diesel Fire ...
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Mr. Mikhil Surendran*
Email: mikhilsuren@gmail.com
Since its invention around 200 years ago, internal combustion (IC) engines have dramatically changed the way human
beings live, work and commute. Not only have they revolutionized the way we travel by replacing animal-driven carts with engine- driven cars, trains and planes, but they have also raised our living standards considerably by making power generation and consumption more affordable than ever before. Over the years, they have become such an inevitable part of our lives, that, today, about 25% of the energy needs of the world are being met by the energy produced using IC engines operating on fossil fuels.
The rise to prominence of IC engines has been for good reasons. For a given amount of generated power, IC engines were lighter,
safer and cheaper compared with most of its contemporaries, thereby making them one of the most suitable options for power generation for automobiles. The relative abundance of fossil fuels, coupled with the simplicity and affordability of power generation using IC engines, made them an ideal technology for stationary power generation as well.
Notwithstanding the many advantages they offer, IC engines have, of late, come under severe criticism from varied corners for their contribution towards the presence of increased amounts of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the earth’s atmosphere. Although the well-directed efforts of automobile engineers and scientists have helped make today’s IC engines a thousand times cleaner than the engines of the past, automotive IC engines
* Mr. Mikhil Surendran, PhD Scholar from Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, is pursuing his research on “Investigation of the Evaporation Behaviour of Droplets of Urea-Water-Solution Under Conditions Typical of a Diesel Engine’s Exhaust”. His popular science story entitled “Born from Diesel Fire...” has been selected for AWSAR Award.