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50% sounded like a lot to me so I checked wikipedia, according to which, most internal combustion engines have an average efficiency of 18-20%. So I guess it co

• anamax 15y ago
  > 50% sounded like a lot to me so I checked wikipedia, according to which, most internal combustion engines have an average efficiency of 18-20%. From the wikipedia article that you cited: "Most steel engines have a thermodynamic limit of 37%. Even when aided with turbochargers and stock efficiency aids, most engines retain an average efficiency of about 18%-20%." I wrote that IC engines are running about 50% of the thermodynamic limits because 18/37 is around 50%. 18x2 is about 37, so there's no way for wave engines to be more than 2x as efficient as current engines unless they run at much higher temperatures. Since the relevant temperature is determined by the fuel.... Getting close to the thermodynamic limit is really hard. You didn't read the wiki article very carefully The 18-20% is of the total energy in the fuel. Heat engines, which includes both wave and piston engines, are subject to thermodynamic limits. The thermodynamic limits tell us the maximum efficiency, which is about 40% for the temperature at which ther