Engine Machine Motor

[GregLaROCHE]

Engines, machines and motors. How do you define them? Are they the same thing? How many ways have we used these words interchangeably? What is correct. It’s not that straight forward as you may think. Before answering, you may want to Google a bit. I found conflicting answers. Examples of a catapult being an engin of war and a machines of torture. Ford Tri Motor airplane. What is a water wheel at an old mill? How do you define which is which?

[Finster101]

Depends on when the semantics police show up. Till then everyone seems to follow the conversation just fine.

[Winger Ed.]

I'd always heard motors ran on electricity, and engines on fuel.
But never understood why the term 'seige engine' was applied to war machines in ancient times.

It's common to see the words interchanged, and even used together. Such as a 'motorcycle engine'.
It's one of those deals where you look up a word in the dictionary, and there is dozens of different definitions,
and all are acceptable in our culture.

[rbuck351]

Meanings of words change over time and words are often used incorrectly to the point that it becomes the new definition. The word gender did not mean sex when I was in high school but it is used for that now.

[GregLaROCHE]

I’ve found definitions contradicting each other. I just goes you can’t take everything you read on the internet as fact.

[Scrounge]

Engines, machines and motors. How do you define them? Are they the same thing? How many ways have we used these words interchangeably? What is correct. It’s not that straight forward as you may think. Before answering, you may want to Google a bit. I found conflicting answers. Examples of a catapult being an engin of war and a machines of torture. Ford Tri Motor airplane. What is a water wheel at an old mill? How do you define which is which?

First thing you have to understand is that English is not an ancient language. It's an amalgam of bits and pieces stolen from other languages. It has been said that English is the result of Norman men at arms trying to make dates with Saxon barmaids. Also that it never met a word it didn't like, and follows other languages down dark alley, and mugs them for words it likes. And that is all true! We use many words, derived (stolen!) from many languages, and we stretch them to fit things they weren't originally intended to cover. Think about it! Before the Normans conquered England, there were the Angles, and Saxons, and before them, the Romans... There are, of course, multiple branches of English, too. British English, American English and Churchill's joke about two people divided by a common language. Words that are correct in one are not in another. Regional variations, dialects, and all that rubbish!

The Merriam's on-line derivation for Engine is: Middle English engin, from Anglo-French, from Latin ingenium natural disposition, talent, from in- + gignere to beget — more at KIN, for Machine: Middle French, from Latin machina, from Greek mēchanē (Doric dialect machana), from mēchos means, expedient — more at MAY entry 1

and for Motor is: Latin, from movēre to move

So they all sort of mean the same things. English does two crazy things with words. It makes a single word mean many things, and multiple different words mean the same thing. That is one of the reasons it is among the most difficult languages to learn.

Look up the definition for the phrase "simple machine." That is six separate "simple machines" and you could make the case that there are several that are duplicates. One is the inclined plane. Another is the wedge, and another is the screw. All of which are, basically, an inclined plane. And they get a lot of workout in more complex machines. So do the wheel and axle, and pulley. And the lever. They are all means of manipulating energy to do work. Electrical energy, mechanical energy, heat, moving fluids, whatever. Machines are engines that move other things. So are motors. The thing might be a rock, or a bullet, or a screw, or...

It's a very fuzzy universe, and English is a very fuzzy language that in some ways fits it well. And in others totally confuses because it is so imprecise.

Bill

[GregLaROCHE]

Scrounge,
Those words are almost the same in French too. Maybe I should look up their definitions in French. I didn’t think about that.

[Gator 45/70]

The old White or Detroit engines had Stop/Battle positions on the governor cover,I believe these were in Higgens boats.

[William Yanda]

I understand an engine is a device that turns one form of energy into another. A catapult, an electric motor, and a gasoline or diesel motor are all engines. In the broad sense, even a generator is an engine, converting motion to electrical energy.

[gwpercle]

My Keep It Simple Definitions :
Electric Motors - run by electricity and have copper wire windings.
Gasoline Engines - run on gasoline and have cylinders .

After that I don't know or care what you call them .
Life's too dang complicated as it is ...
Gary

[jim147]

When I built engines for a living, the racers called me motor man.

[GregLaROCHE]

For those who want to know more, here is MIT’s explanation.

https://engineering.mit.edu/engage/ask-an-engineer/whats-the-difference-between-a-motor-and-an-engine/

[David2011]

I read MIT’s explanation and I’m not sure it actually increased my knowledge. I favor the descriptions that describe an engine as converting heat to power and a motor as a device that converts one form of power into another.

Liquid fueled engines burn fuel, creating heat and turning it into usable power. Stirling engines convert heat that is applied directly into rotational power.

Electric and hydraulic/pneumatic motors receive one sort of power and convert it to a different type of power.

Any device that does work is a machine. It can be a hand powered drill, an electric drill, a hay bailer, a typewriter, a welder, a steam engine, a lathe or just about anything that does work.

[GregLaROCHE]

I’m not trying to make a point. Probably all three words are all screwed and mixed up. Here’s another thing I found, if anyone is interested.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machine

[megasupermagnum]

I break it down into two parts. Motors produce movement without moving parts. Engines produce movement from moving parts. Both are machines. Examples of motors would be electric or hydraulic motors. An electric motor gets movement from electric fields. A hydraulic motor, depending on design, can be an odd duck. Many of them have moving parts, but those moving parts are ways to keep the fluid circulating through the motor. The shaft itself is driven off of the fluid. Both electric and hydraulic usually drive something directly off of their main shafts. For this reason, I consider a rotary combustion "engine" a motor. Examples of an engine would be gasoline/diesel combustion or steam. Most gas or diesel engines produce power by transferring the gases from combustion to the piston, through the connecting rod, and to the crankshaft. So the power is produced from the piston/connecting rod. Steam is used in engines for a similar, but more obscure reason. I'm sure there are examples of things driven straight off the main shaft of a steam engine. For the most part though, steam engines ran a connecting rod to whatever it was it was driving. A lot of steam engines share a lot of resemblance to a gas/diesel combustion engine.

Ultimately the terms are so close, you can use them interchangeably and only the pickiest of picky will be the least bit concerned. Only an imbecile would ever be confused if you call the engine in your car a "motor".

[GregLaROCHE]

What a turbo jet?

[megasupermagnum]

That's a tough one. Since it propels something, usually an aircraft, I think most would call it an engine. Instead of a connecting rod to create movement, you are using the air to create movement. Speeding air up super fast, similar to a rocket nozzle in this case.

[MT Gianni]

It's all words, considering that a lever and a screw are simple machines.

[Springfield]

Mega: Electric motors having moving parts. So do rotary combustion engines.

[GregLaROCHE]

Jet turbines are used to power big generators.

[megasupermagnum]

Mega: Electric motors having moving parts. So do rotary combustion engines.

Electric motors don't really have any moving parts. The shaft obviously turns, but nothing mechanical causes it to turn.

You are 100% correct on the rotary engine. I just double checked, and I did not realize the rotor and shaft (eccentric shaft) were separate. Since the rotor is a moving part causing the shaft to turn, it would be an engine.