WSC 2025 - Much Excite, Much Ignite

Internal combustion engine

• A type of heat engine in which working fluid is heated by the combustion of a fuel with an oxidizer in a chamber

• Creates high-temperature, high pressure areas that propel powered parts (eg. pistons)

• Invented in the mid-19th century with the Otto engine

External combustion engine

• A type of heat engine in which working fluid is heated by the combustion in an external source

• Eg. Steam engine, Stirling engine

Heat engine

• A system that transfers thermal energy to do mechanical or electrical work

• Fundamentally limited by Carnot’s theorem of thermodynamics

• Advantaged in that most forms of energy can be easily converted to thermal energy

Gas turbine engine

• A type of internal combustion engine

• Facilitates continuous combustion rather than it being intermittent

• Contains three parts, the compressor, the combustion zone, and the turbine

• Passes pressurized, hot air over a turbine to generate mechanical energy

• First designed by John Barber to power a horseless carriage in 1791

John Barber

• An English engineer

• First to design a gas turbine engine in 1791 to power a horseless carriage

Wankel engine

• A type of internal combustion engine

• Uses an eccentric (off-centre) near-Reuleaux triangle rotary design

• Concept first proven by Felix Wankel

• First built by Hanns-Dieter Paschke

• Lower thermal efficiency and higher emissions than a typical reciprocating internal combustion engine

• Compact, smooth, lighter, and fewer moving parts

• Used in chainsaws, motorcycles, snowmobiles, aircraft, racing cars, suicide drones, etc.

Felix Wankel

• A German engineer

• First proved a concept for an internal combustion engine with an eccentric rotary design

Hanns-Dieter Paschke

• A German engineer

• First to design a Wankel engine

Otto engine

• A type of internal combustion engine

• Designed by Nicolaus Otto in 1876

• A four stroke engine

• Restricted in speed by the Otto cycle

• First engine to compress fuel prior to combustion to improve fuel efficiency

Nicolaus Otto

• A German engineer

• Designed the Otto engine in 1876, and the Otto cycle

Otto cycle

• An idealized thermodynamic cycle

• Designed by Nicolaus Otto

• Describes the functioning of a spark ignition piston engine

• Specifically, models how the changes in pressure and volume of the working fluid change due to combustion

• Contains five phases: intake, compression, combustion, power stroke, exhaust

Reciprocating engine

• A type of heat engine

• Uses one or more pistons to convert high temperature and high pressure into a rotating motion

• Became widespread during the Industrial Revolution

Rotary engine

• A type of internal combustion engine

• Designed with an odd number of cylinders in a radial configuration

• Crankshaft remained stationary, while the entire crankcase rotated with the cylinders around as a unit

• Used mainly in aviation

• Obsolete by the 1920s

• Ran smoothly, cooled through movement, and had a weight and size advantage

• Very inefficient, energy was allocated to overcoming the air resistance of the spinning enging

Radial engine

• A type of internal combustion engine

• Designed with an odd number of cylinders in a radial configuration

• Crankcase remained stationary, with all cylinders operating on the central crankshaft

• Mainly used for aircraft until gas turbines were predominant

Continuous combustion engine

• A type of engine that maintains a steady rate of combustion to generate mechanical energy

• Eg. gas turbine engine

Intermittent combustion engine

• A type of engine that does not maintain a steady rate of combustion to generate mechanical energy

• Eg. Four-stroke engine

Hydrocarbon

• A type of organic compound

• Consists entirely of hydrogen and carbon

• Generally colourless and hydrophobic

• Commonly refers to petroluem, natural gas, and coal

• Includes methane, ethane, propane, and butane

• Used to power combustion reactions

• Major contributor to anthropogenic global warming

Diesel

• A fuel used in a compression-ignition engine

• Most commonly a specific fractional distillate of petroleum

• Today standardized to a low level of sulfur contents

• Often cause health problems from exhaust

• Invented in 1892 by Rudolf Diesel

Spark-ignition engine

• A type of internal combustion engine

• Uses a spark plug to ignite working fluid within the cylinder

Compression-ignition engine

• A type of internal combustion engine

• Compresses working fluid to heat it and ignite it within the cylinder

Rudolf Diesel

• A German scientist

• Invented diesel fuel in 1892

Biodiesel

• A form of diesel

• A mono-alkyl ester

• Renewable

• Higher boiling point and flash point than petrodiesel

• Derived from biological sources like vegetable oils, animal fats, etc.

• Consists of long-chain fatty acid esters

• Highlighted first in the 1900 Paris Exposition, when Rudolf Diesel’s engine ran successfully on peanut oil

• Originally highly viscous, which would deposit in engines

• Lower fuel efficiency than petrodiesel

• Usually blended with petrodiesel, as most engines cannot run on the fuel purely

• Considered a more green alternative to petrodiesel, although has numerous concerns around land use and other issues depending on the exact sources

Bioethanol

• A form of ethanol

• Chemical formula C₂H₆O

• Renewable

• Chemically identical to petroleum derived ethanol, only differentiated by radiocarbon dating

• Produced from agricultural feedstocks like hemp, sugarcane, potato, cassava, and corn

• Debated for its usefulness replacing gasoline, but also how it brings food prices up

Ethyl tertiary-butyl ether

• An oxygenate gasoline additive

• Chemical formula C₆H₁₄O

• Used in the production of gasaoline from crude oil

• Offers equal or greater air quality benefits compared to ethanol

• Does not induce evaporation of gasoline (one of the causes of smog)

• Does not absorb moisture from the atmosphere

• More expensive than MBTE, but less environmentally damaging

Hydrogen

• A diatomic chemical element

• Lightest element in the universe

• Characterized by one proton

• Can be related to fuel through fuel cells or through internal combustion

• If combusted, carbon dioxide is no longer a byproduct, but still can produce oxides of nitrogen

• If in a fuel cell, electricity is generated with zero-emissions with reactions with oxygen from the air

• Typically derived from natural gas, making its use still seen as environmentally damaging

Mercedes 35 HP

• An automobile

• Designed by Wilhelm Maybach in 1901 for Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft

• Achieved a speed of 53 mph

Wilhelm Maybach

• A German engineer

• Designed the Mercedes 35 HP in 1901

Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft

• A German engineering company

• Produced the Mercedes 35 HP in 1901

Oldsmobile

• An American automobile company

• Founded by Ransom E. Olds

• Produced a one-cylinder, 3 HP, tiller-steered, “curved dashboard” motorized horse buggy

• Paled in comparison to the German automobiles of the time, but was significantly cheaper and saw more production volume

Ransom E. Olds

• An American engineer

• Founded Oldsmobile in 1897

Duryea Motor Wagon

• An automobile

• Designed in 1893 by J. Frank and Charles Duryea

• Won the first American car race in 1895

J. Frank Duryea

• A “Bicycle brother”

• Designed the Duryea Motor Wagon with his brother Charles in 1893

Charles Duryea

• A “Bicycle brother”

• Designed the Duryea Motor Wagon with his brother J. Frank in 1893

Henry Ford

• An American businessman

• Introduced the Model T in 1908

Model T

• An automobile

• Introduced by Henry Ford in 1908

• Sold by the Ford Motor Company

• Built on the success of the Model N

• Featured a two-speed planetary transmission, a detachable cylinder head, a high chassis, and vanadium steel

• Mass-produced with the help of new methods of casting the parts (especially the engine)

• Price reached 290 USD in 1927 with 15 million units sold

• Aimed towards farmers

• Slowly lost popularity as the country became more urbanized

William Durant

• An American businessman

• Founded General Motors in 1908

General Motors

• An automobile company

• Founded by William Durant in 1908

Ford Motor Company

• An automobile company

• Founded by Henry Ford in 1903

• Sold early mass-produced automobiles, such as the Model T, and Model N

Model N

• An automobile

• Sold by Ford Motor Company

• Predecessor to the Model T

• Called the first low-cost gas mass-produced motorcar

Alfred P. Sloan Jr.

• An American businessman

• Former president of General Motors during the 1920s and 1930s

• Implemented planned obsolescence to combat a saturated market

Sloanism

• An economic ideology

• Pioneered by the president of GM

• Implemented planned obsolescence

• Dictated the lack of innovation of the company at the time

• Cars developed little after the innovations of a self-starter, an all-steel body, a high-compression engine, hydraulic brakes, syncromesh transmission, low-pressure balloon tires, automatic transmission and drop-frame construction

• Allowed GM to pass Ford in market share

• During WWII, doctrine led to heavier, more powerful, and more expensive cars

• In the 1960s, cars were being delivered with an average of 24 defects per unit

Fuel Injection

• An automotive innovation

• The process of introducing fuel into an engine

• Developed first by Henry Ford in 1901

• Became common on diesel engines in the 1920s, and gasoline engines in the 1950s

• Volkswagen introduced the computer-controlled system in 1968 to allow for precise metering

Volkswagen

• A German automobile company

• Introduced the computer-controlled fuel injector in 1968

Carburetor

• A device used by internal combustion engines to regulate and mix the intake of air and fuel

• Entirely replaced by fuel injectors by the early 1990s among road vehicles

Cruise control

• An automotive innovation

• Allows for the accelerator to be released as the car maintained its speed

• Developed in 1958 by Chrysler (known as auto-pilot)

• Term made by Cadillac

• Mainstream in the 1970s

Chrysler

• An American automobile company

• Developed cruise control in 1958 (at the time known as auto-pilot)

Turbocharger

• An automotive innovation

• A device with turbines driven by exhaust gases that can compress air to allow for more air in the cylinder

• Developed from WWII aircraft

• First offered in 1962 by General Motors on the Corvair Monza and the Oldsmobile Jetfire

• Early ones had delayed effects (turbo lag)

• Later allowed for cars to squeeze more power from smaller engines

Antilock brake system

• An automotive innovation

• Prevents the steering wheel from locking up when braking

• Introduced by Ford in 1969, and Chrysler in 1971

• Became mandatory in 2012 in the United States

Catalytic converter

• An automotive innovation

• Converts harmful pollutants of ecologically damaging engines into carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and water

• Introduced via emissions standards in the United States in 1975

• Usually uses platinum

Computer-controlled engine

• An automotive innovation

• Controls ignition timing and air-fuel mixture to make the car more eco-friendly

• Developed by Ford and Toshiba after the Clean Air Act of 1970

• Paved the way for vehicle diagnostics (mandated after 1988)

Clean Air Act

• An act in 1970

• Prompted the development of computer-controlled engines

Seat belt

• An automotive innovation

• Restricts movement to prevent injury in high force situations

• Offered first by Nash in 1949

• First made standard by Saab in 1958

• Became mandated in 1965 with the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act

• Met with huge backlash

• Taken seriously by the 1980s

National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act

• An act in 1965

• Mandated all cars to have seat belts

• Developed from Ralph Nader’s “Unsafe at Any Speed”

Nash

• An American automobile company

• Made obsolete during WWII

• First to offer seat belts in cars

Saab

• An American automobile brand

• First to standardize seat belts in car models in 1958

Airbag

• An automobile innovation

• An inflatable bladder that protects passengers from large crash forces

• Patented in 1953

• Began to appear in cars in the 1970s

• First completely implemented by Chrysler in 1988

• Required on all cars in 1998

Advanced driver assistance system

• An automotive innovation

• Includes adaptive cruise control, lane departure warnings, assisted lane keeping, radar and lidar, and automatic steering and braking

• First introduced in premium cars from Cadillac, Lexus, and Audi in the 2000s

Mike Johns

• An American traveller

• Flying to Los Angeles from Scottsdale

• Nearly missed flight due to self-driving Waymo taxi driving in circles in a parking lot

Waymo

• A self-driving taxi service

• Criticized by Mike Johns for lack of empathy after an incident with one of their cars

Xiaosong Du

• An American aerospace engineer at Missouri University of Science and Technology

• Claims flying cars can be made with current technology

• Suggests that flying cars would be similar to helicopters during takeoff, and airplanes afterwards

• Recognizes the issue of electric flying vehicles being range and safety

Alef Aeronautics

• An American automobile company

• Plans to sell personal flying cars

• Expected to cost about 300,000 USD per unit

Pat Anderson

• An American aerospace engineer

• Former director of the Engle Flight Research Center at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

• Suggests that flying cars may be more of a rideshare service for the majority of people in 10 to 20 years

• Notes that flying cars will need to be heavily tested and regulated for safety

• Mentions that electric vehicles are both heavy and have limited range, which make them difficult to transform into flying cars

Core

• A part of the Sun

• Most interior part

• Place where hydrogen fusion occurs and radiates energy

Radiative zone

• A part of the Sun

• Second most interior part

• Place where energy is radiated out from the core

Convective zone

• A part of the Sun

• Third most interior part

• Place where energy is moved via convective forces

Photosphere

• A part of the sun

• Boundary between the solar interior and the solar atmosphere

• Visible part of the Sun

Chromosphere

• A part of the sun

• Lower solar atmosphere

• Causes the Sun to appear red when viewed through a solar telescope

Corona

• A part of the sun

• Upper solar atmosphere

• Extends millions of kilometers from the Sun itself

• Source of solar wind

Volcano

• A vent of fissure in the crust

• Allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber

• Found at plate boundaries or hotspots

Eruption

• An event whereby material is expelled from a volcanic vent or fissure

Mount Vesuvius

• A volcano in Italy near Naples

• Consists of a large cone partially encircles by a summit caldera

• Erupted in 79

• Destroyed the cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, Oplontis, and other settlements

• Only surviving witness account consists of two letters by Pliny the Younger

• Most densely populated volcanic region in the world

• Often associated with Hercules

Huaynaputina

• A volcano in Peru near Arequipa

• Created the largest recorded eruption in South America in 1600

• Killed at least 1,000 people

• Not too many people live in the immediate surrounding area

Unzendake

• A volcano in Japan near Nagasaki

• Erupted in 1792, creating a megatsunami killing 15,000 people

• Erupted in 1991, killing 43 people

Tambora

• A volcano in Indonesia near Dompu

• Erupted in 1815

• Most powerful eruption in recorded human history

• Led to the year without a summer

• Killed around 71,000 people, plus the worst famine of the century

Krakatoa

• A volcano in the Sunda Strait

• Erupted in 1883

• Loudest sound ever recorded (from Alice Springs)

• Killed at least 36,000 people

• Collapsed into four islands in the straits

Lake Nyos

• A crater lake in Cameroon near Bamenda

• Limnically erupted in 1986

• Killed 1,746 people

• Led to a degassing system to reduce concentration of carbon dioxide

• Thought to be the result of a landslide

Limnic eruption

• A type of natural disaster

• Occurs when dissolved carbon dioxide suddenly erupts from deep lake waters, forming a gas cloud capable of asphyxiating surrounding areas

• Only two have ever occurred—one in Lake Nyos, and one in Lake Monoun

Mount St. Helens

• A volcano in the United States near Portland

• Erupted in 1980

• Most economically destructive volcanic event in American history

• Killed 57 people

• Predicted to have more destructive eruptions in the future

Eyjafjallajökull

• An ice cap in Iceland near Vik

• AKA E15

• Covers a volcano

• Erupted many times, most notably in 2010

• Led to evacuations

Hunga Tonga

• A volcano in Tonga near Tongatapu

• Collapsed into two islands

• Erupted in 2021

• Produced a tsunami affecting Japan and Peru

• Killed at least 4 people

• Largest volcanic eruption in the 21st century

• Largest explosion recorded in the atmosphere, perhaps rivalling Krakatoa

Yellowstone

• A volcano in the United States near Cody

• Had superetuptions 2.08 million years ago, and 630,000 years ago

• A collapsed caldera

• Not currently eruptible

• First national park in the world

Punic Wars

• A series of three wars between the Roman Republic and the Carthaginian Empire between 264 to 146 BC

• First was a conflict of interest in the Mediterranean (Rome won)

• Second was a revenge spree by Hannibal (Rome won)

• Third was the finishing blow as Carthage was defending themselves against Numidian forces (Rome won)

Hundred Years’ War

• A war between England and France (plus a civil war in France) between 1337 and 1453

• Emerged over feudal disputes over the Duchy of Aquitaine

• Triggered by a claim to the French throne by Edward III of England

• Interrupted by many truces and the Black Death

• Permanently changed European warfare through innovation

• Divided into the Edwardian War, Caroline War, and Lancastrian War

• Figures including Henry IV, Joan of Arc, and John the Fearless commanded during the war

• Ended with England losing most of their continental possessions except for Calais

Wars of the Roses

• A series of wars over the right to the English throne from 1455 to 1487 between the House of Lancaster and the House of York

• Ended with the death of Lancaster’s male line, creating the female-inherited Tudor family

• The mental instability of Henry VI ignited Richard, Duke of York’s interest in a claim to the throne

• Interrupted by periods of leadership under various York and Lancaster kings

Mongol invasions

• A series of invasions by the Mongol Empire throughout Eurasia between 1206 and 1386

• Created the largest contiguous empire in history

• Fragmented in 1260, but still ruled China (Yuan dynasty), Persia (Timurid Empire), and India (Mughal Empire)

• Between 20 and 60 million people were killed during this period (not including plague deaths)

Reconquista

• A series of military campaigns between European Christian kingdoms against Muslim al-Andalus from c.718 to 1492

• Developed the kingdoms of Portugal, León, Castile, and Aragon

335 Years’ War

• A war between the Netherlands of the Isles of Scilly between 1651 and 1986

• Bloodless, and one of the world’s longest wars

• Resulted from the lack of a peace treaty after the English Civil War

• Signed a peace treaty to ensure no hypothetical war would continue legally