Engines & Equipment

Engines and construction equipment are all complex machines. How do some of these engines work, and how do they help us construct buildings and structures?

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How do the engines breathe in diesel submarines? Don't internal combustion engines need a lot of oxygen to run? Where would all of this oxygen come from when the sub is underwater?

There is a force that causes a 3-pole motor to spin in one direction and not the other. What exactly is this force and how does it prevent the motor from spinning in another direction. Find out the answer to this question in this article from HowStuffWorks.

When I was a kid, my Aunt had constantly flowing water from a natural spring down the hill. She said the water was pumped uphill using a hydraulic ram. This device ran constantly and didn't need any electricity! What is a hydraulic ram and how does i

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How are people able to breathe inside a submarine? What do they do to keep the air breathable?

By HowStuffWorks.com Contributors

Since a torpedo cannot have an air-breathing engine like a boat, how is it propelled through the water?

Ever gaze in wonder at the huge cranes, bulldozers, backhoes, loaders, shovels and fork lifts on a construction site? Find out all about hydraulic machines, from backyard log splitters to big construction equipment.

By Marshall Brain

Tractor pulls are popular displays of raw horsepower.The trucks used in these competitions use engines that are capable of producing thousands of horsepower.

By Marshall Brain

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A fascinating article that describes how a block and tackle (as well as levers and gears) works!

By Marshall Brain

Hydraulic cranes perform seemingly impossible tasks, lifting 70-ton objects with absolute ease. See the simple design behind the Herculean results.

By Kevin Bonsor

We see them all the time, but do you ever think about everything these machines do? A fire engine is a combination personnel carrier, tool box and water tanker. Learn all about this amazing 3-in-1 machine.

By Kevin Bonsor

You probably ride escalators all the time, but do you know how they move, and flatten, and keep the handrail in synch with the steps? Find out exactly what is going on inside an escalator.

By Tom Harris

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In action movies, elevators regularly plummet to the basement, landing in a spectacular ball of fire. Is this possible? There are some sophisticated engineering techniques at work behind every elevator ride you take.

By Tom Harris

A radial engine has a unique setup that makes it ideal for certain applications. Find out what makes radial engines different, how they operate and where they're used.

By Marshall Brain

Imagine whipping through the sky at thousands of miles per hour. This special type of jet engine can do exactly that.

By Nicholas Gerbis

One of the key pieces of infrastructure that we could really use in the U.S. is a high speed, efficient, and effective train system.

By Derek Markham, Planet Green

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In January 2004, the citizens of Milan, Italy, were preparing for a strike that would shut down all public transportation. Since an estimated 28 percent of greater Milan’s 3 million populace relied heavily on public transit, the strike meant gridlock for most of the city.

By Jonathan Atteberry

Electric-propelled boats, which are much quieter and more environmentally friendly than gas-powered motorboats, are finally beginning to hit the waves and find their market.

By Patrick J. Kiger

The Dorasan train station was built near the DMZ to connect North and South Korea. But the only people using this fully functional station are some tourists.

By Dave Roos

Train crashes are in the news lately, but are our fears justified?

By Stell Simonton

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In 2015, the U.S. population numbered 320 million, but less than 10 percent of those people rode the rails. So who does?

By Julia Layton

Antique steam shovels can still be found rusting away at old mining sites or painstakingly restored and on display in museums the world over. How much do you know about these mammoth-sized digging tools?

By Akweli Parker

Forklifts are a necessary tool in most warehouses, shipping depots and manufacturing facilities. In fact, without forklifts, we wouldn't be able to move manufactured goods nearly as efficiently as we do today.

By Christopher Neiger

Few are unfamiliar with the mixer trucks that transport concrete from the factory to the construction site. How do they keep that stuff from hardening while they move?

By Eric Baxter

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Ready for a fifth mode of transportation? Elon Musk is. He's sketched out a proposal for a nearly supersonic transportation system that could shoot you from San Francisco to Los Angeles faster than you can watch an episode of "Game of Thrones."

By John Perritano