Diesel engine

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The diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses compression ignition, in which fuel ignites as it is injected into air in the combustion chamber that has been compressed to temperatures high enough to cause ignition. By contrast, gasoline engines utilize the Otto cycle in which fuel and air are typically mixed before entering the combustion chamber and ignited by a spark plug, making compression ignition undesirable (engine knocking).
The engine operates using the Diesel cycle named after German engineer Rudolf Diesel, who invented it in 1892 based on the hot bulb engine and for which he received a patent on February 23, 1893. Diesel intended the engine to use a variety of fuels including coal dust and peanut oil. He demonstrated it at the 1900 Exposition Universelle (World's Fair) using peanut oil (see biodiesel).