Nutating disc engine

High school (ages 12+)
Science & Technology

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/nutating-disc-engine

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the engine type?Internal combustion engine
2. What is the year of patent?1993
3. How does the wobbly wheel engine move the crankshaft?The disc rocks back and forth, and as it does, it pushes against the engine housing. This push turns the crankshaft, making the engine run.
4. Why does the engine have so few moving parts?The design uses only one main moving piece—the disc. Fewer parts mean less friction and fewer chances for something to break.

Nutating Disc Engine: An internal combustion engine characterized by a disc that performs a rocking or wobbling motion to generate power.
Internal Combustion Engine: An engine that generates power by the combustion of fuel within a confined space, such as a cylinder.
Crankshaft: A rotating shaft that converts the linear motion of pistons or, in this case, the nutating disc, into rotational motion.
Swash Plate: A mechanism used to convert rotational motion into linear motion, or vice versa, featuring a tilted plate that rotates eccentrically.