Lasers to replace spark plugs?

One of the more important components in your vehicle that enable it to start would be the row of spark plugs – once those are dirty, it will not only make it harder for your engine to start, but increase fuel consumption in the long run as well. What happens when there is a way for you to replace those spark plugs with something else? We’re talking about the use of lasers – not to zap aliens who are seated loftily in their respective UFOs, but rather, to form part of a laser ignition system as a primary method of igniting the fuel-air mix in engines to boost fuel efficiency while cutting down on carbon emissions.

The standard combustion engine would see the fuel-air mix is compressed by a piston followed by an ignition by a spark plug that is seated in the top of the cylinder. This spark will be generated by electricity that arcs between two electrodes, which makes it good enough to ignite fuel as well as limiting the kind of fuel which you can burn.

With the use of laser ignition, however, you are able to finely tune it to be more precise than spark plugs. Slowing down the four-stroke cycle would let you view the exact timing of the spark plug ignition which is erratic and difficult to predict, but laser might just deliver better timing to make the combustion more efficient while improving overall fuel economy. We don’t think that this technology will hit the market soon though, as it will take some time to permeate itself.

Edwin Kee
Categories: Transportation
Tags: laser