Carburetor
A
carburetor is the component of automobile engines responsible
for mixing air and gasoline in the correct ratio for most
efficient combustion (usually about 15:1, air:gasoline, by
weight). Common on older vehicles, carburetors have been replaced
in modern automobiles by fuel injectors.
At its most basic, a carburetor has a tube constricted at
one point into a narrow throat, or venturi. The speed of air
flowing through the venturi increases and hence its pressure
decreases: fuel from a reservoir (the float chamber) is therefore
sucked in through a hole, or jet, at this point. The fuel
mixture then passes through a throttle valve, which controls the rate at which the mixture enters
the engine and hence the engine speed. A choke in the air-intake
regulates the air supply and thus the richness of the mixture.
In practice, carburetors incorporate various means of ensuring
constancy of mixture strength during running. High-performance
engines may use more than one carburetor.
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