Previously I talked about the air-fuel mixture getting compressed by the pistons which provided the force for the car to move. But what initiates this process? The answer is the Spark Plugs. It ignites the the air fuel mixture which leads to combustion of the mixture which leads to generation of heat which ultimately leads to the force which makes the car move.
The spark plugs are connected to high voltage source. When the circuit is completed the source supplies high amounts of electric power to the to the spark plug. Now you must be wondering that air is an insulator and doesn't conduct electricity then how is he air fuel mixture ignited? The answer lies in the fact that when huge amount of electricity (about 12,000-25,000 volts) is supplied then air gets ionized and is able to conduct electricity.
The spark plug does exactly this thing. Thus when the air fuel mixture is compressed by the pistons the spark plug ignites it and thus heat energy is generated.
Now the question arises that doesn't the spark plug conduct the electricity to other surrounding parts of the engine? The answer is no. This is ensured by the "insulator" present in the spark plug. It is made of a high resistance material which along with insulation provides mechanical support to the spark plug. The material used is sintered alumina which is not only provides insulation but also prevents the spark plug from glowing red hot. Further a corrugated part called "ribs" also provides insulation and prevents "leaking" of the electrical charge.
Now with the insulation on the outside the inside or the core of the spark plug is what conducts the electricity. The core of the spark plug has a negative electrode and a nickel plated positive electrode. The negative electrode helps in earthing while the nickel electrode provides the spark for ignition.
So this how a spark plug functions. Hopefully this picture will help you identify the parts I have mentioned in this post
The spark plugs are connected to high voltage source. When the circuit is completed the source supplies high amounts of electric power to the to the spark plug. Now you must be wondering that air is an insulator and doesn't conduct electricity then how is he air fuel mixture ignited? The answer lies in the fact that when huge amount of electricity (about 12,000-25,000 volts) is supplied then air gets ionized and is able to conduct electricity.
The spark plug does exactly this thing. Thus when the air fuel mixture is compressed by the pistons the spark plug ignites it and thus heat energy is generated.
Now the question arises that doesn't the spark plug conduct the electricity to other surrounding parts of the engine? The answer is no. This is ensured by the "insulator" present in the spark plug. It is made of a high resistance material which along with insulation provides mechanical support to the spark plug. The material used is sintered alumina which is not only provides insulation but also prevents the spark plug from glowing red hot. Further a corrugated part called "ribs" also provides insulation and prevents "leaking" of the electrical charge.
Now with the insulation on the outside the inside or the core of the spark plug is what conducts the electricity. The core of the spark plug has a negative electrode and a nickel plated positive electrode. The negative electrode helps in earthing while the nickel electrode provides the spark for ignition.
So this how a spark plug functions. Hopefully this picture will help you identify the parts I have mentioned in this post
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