Rotary engines (also known as Wankel engines and Wankel rotary engines) are quite different from piston or "reciprocating" engines. One of the distinguishing features is that they don't need valves to ...

In this video, we address several common questions regarding the rotary vane engine and its design, including: 00:00 ...

Four-stroke engines, which make up 99% of vehicles on the road, rely on a system for managing air intake, compression, combustion, and exhaust within a sealed combustion chamber. Poppet valves are ...

In a world dominated by pistons, the rotary engine was something different for motorists. It was the vision of German engineer Felix Wankel, built on the belief that the up-and-down motion of pistons ...

If you enjoyed this article, I’d like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in ...