Spark plug

A spark plug (sometimes in British English, a sparking plughttp://print.google.com/print?id=UA5syoe1kc0C&pg=279&lpg=279&dq=%22sparking+plug%22+%22spark+plug%22&prev=http://print.google.com/print%3Fie%3DUTF-8%26q%3D%2522sparking%2Bplug%2522%2B%2522spark%2Bplug%2522%26btnG%3DSearch&sig=rHmFVJqWnGQZL5rngcSUYe6YWl8) is an electrical device that fits into the cylinder head of some internal combustion engines and ignites compressed aerosol gasoline by means of an electric spark. Spark plugs have an insulated center electrode which is connected by a heavily insulated wire to an induction coil or magneto circuit on the outside, forming, with a grounded terminal on the base of the plug, a spark gap inside the cylinder. Early patents for spark plugs included those by Nikola Tesla ( in US patent 609,250 for an ignition timing system), (1898), Richard Simms (GB 24859/1898, 1898), and Robert Bosch (GB 26907/1898).

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Internal combustion engines can be divided into spark-ignition engines, which require spark plugs to begin combustion, and compression-ignition engines (diesel engines), which compress the fuel/air mixture until it spontaneously ignites. Compression-ignition engines may use glow plugs to improve cold start characteristics.

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Spark plugs may also be used in other applications such as furnaces where a combustible mixture should be ignited. In this case, they are sometimes referred to as flame igniters.

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British English: British English (BrE) is a term used loosely to refer to the form of the English language written in the British Isles, and more narrowly as spoken in the south of England (extending elsewhere with varying degrees). For historical reasons dating back to the rise of London in the 9th century, the var...

Cylinder head: In an internal combustion engine, the cylinder head sits atop the cylinders and consists of a platform containing most part of the combustion chamber and the location of the valves and spark plugs. In a flathead engine, the mechanical parts of the valve train are all contained within the block, and ...

Internal combustion engine: An internal combustion engine is an engine that is powered by the expansion of hot combustion products of fuel directly acting within an engine. A piston internal combustion engine works by burning hydrocarbon or hydrogen fuel that presses on a piston; and a jet engine works as the hot combustion p...

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