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View Full Version : It's an "Engine", not a "Motor".



racer2c
07-17-03, 11:45 AM
Thought for the day...

It's not a motor it's an engine.

A motor moves your windshield wipers. An engine moves your a$$.

And (bonus thought for the day), you measure things with a 'rule', a 'ruler' runs a country.

Ankf00
07-17-03, 11:48 AM
send an email to BMW. I'm sure they'd love to hear from you.

Turn7
07-17-03, 11:58 AM
Why do we drive motorcars and not enginecars?

A motor is any mechanical device used to produce movement.

An engine is a human riding horseback drinking firewater and shooting arrows at cowboys.
:p

Hink
07-17-03, 12:03 PM
On really picky technical grounds that aren't in common use the title statement is true. A motor is a primary converter. An electric motor turns electricity directly into mechanical energy. An internal combustion engine turns air and fuel into a mix, ignites that causing heat which expands it forcing a piston or a rotor to move. It's not a direct conversion.

That's enough geek crap for the day.

Cam
07-17-03, 12:08 PM
Originally posted by racer2c
And (bonus thought for the day), you measure things with a 'rule', a 'ruler' runs a country.

I dunno about you, but I use a scale every day. :D

racer2c
07-17-03, 12:08 PM
Originally posted by Hink
On really picky technical grounds that aren't in common use the title statement is true. A motor is a primary converter. An electric motor turns electricity directly into mechanical energy. An internal combustion engine turns air and fuel into a mix, ignites that causing heat which expands it forcing a piston or a rotor to move. It's not a direct conversion.

That's enough geek crap for the day.

That's what I was taught also. I think the general exchange of the two words have morphed the definitions, as Websters sites both of your examples of a 'motor'. I still think of an electric motor when someone uses that term though.

RacinM3
07-17-03, 12:48 PM
Far as I'm concerned, the two are as interchangeable as "tranny" and "gearbox".

Ankf00
07-17-03, 02:35 PM
Originally posted by Cam
I dunno about you, but I use a scale every day. :D
I prefer a measure :)