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The gasoline engines in cars are terribly inefficient. Of the chemical energy that is released in the burning of gasoline, typically only about 25% is converted into useful mechanical work done on the car to move it forward. Yet scientists and engineers have been working for decades to make a more efficient gasoline engine. Is there some fundamental limit to the efficiency of a gasoline engine? Is it possible to make an engine that converts all--or nearly all--of the chemical energy in the fuel into useful work?
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