Diesel engine

An internal combustion engine that uses diesel oil for fuel. The true diesel does not use a carburetor or an ignition system (i.e., spark plugs) but injects diesel oil into the cylinders when the piston has compressed the air so tightly that it is hot enough to ignite the diesel fuel without a spark. Because a cold engine cannot ignite the diesel fuel, glow plugs are used to heat the mixture, but they do not provide a spark. Named after Rudolf Diesel (1858-1913), the inventor.See also compression ignition