Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank Lee
Yeah, I know. I wonder if that sort of efficiency is scaleable and if not, why not?
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Efficiency almost always correlates to size. Big businesses are more efficient than small ones, big cargo ships are more efficient than small ones, and big engines... well you get the idea.
Large cylinders are efficient because they have a large combustion volume relative to the surface area of the cylinder walls. Surface area is a source of drag, while volume is a source of power. There are likely other reasons big engines are more efficient, but I'm not really an engine efficiency expert.