[randywebb]

You put some air (oxygen) & some flammable material (gas) into the cylinder and blow it up (sorta). That "explosion" causes the pressure to go up and the walls and top of the cylinder won't move, so the bottom - the piston - does. As the piston pushes down, it is attached to a lever that is part of the crankshaft. Since the lever is offset, it tends to make the shaft rotate. Now, connect a few more cylinders to it - in line - to make things smoother & voila!

Is that more or less what you are looking for? Or do I need more Burgandy (?) Get a model kit called the Visible V-8 or Visible Slant Six - if not at a Toy & Hobby store, they can prob. be had at Edmunds Scientific.

The above is a crazy way to make a wheel go around... Hence Lohner's and old man porsche's fascination with electric motors. Think about it - waht you really want is to create a rotational force field - exactly what an electric motor does... we just have to perfect it...