Supercharger facts for kids

A supercharger is a special device that helps an engine get more power. It works by pushing more air into the engine's cylinders. Engines need air to burn fuel, and the more air they get, the more power they can make.

Imagine you are trying to breathe at the top of a very tall mountain. The air there is thinner, meaning it has less oxygen. An engine faces a similar problem at high altitudes. As you go higher, the air pressure drops, and the air becomes less dense. This means there's less oxygen for the engine to breathe. To fix this, superchargers were first used in aircraft engines. They compress the air, making it denser, so the engine gets enough oxygen even high in the sky.

How Superchargers Work

A supercharger has a compressor wheel that spins very fast. This wheel sucks in air and squeezes it, making it denser. This denser, pressurized air is then sent into the engine. Because the engine gets more air, it can burn more fuel and create more power.

Early superchargers were connected directly to the engine's crankshaft by gears. This meant the engine had to use some of its own power to run the supercharger. This is called a "parasitic load" because the supercharger was "feeding off" the engine's power.

Superchargers vs. Turbochargers

To overcome the parasitic load problem, another device called a turbocharger was invented. A turbocharger also compresses air for the engine, but it uses the engine's exhaust gases to spin its compressor. When an engine runs, it produces hot exhaust gases. These gases are usually just released into the air. A turbocharger captures these gases and uses their energy to spin a turbine. This turbine is connected to the compressor, which then pushes air into the engine.

Because turbochargers use waste exhaust gases, they are often more fuel-efficient than superchargers. They don't take power directly from the engine's crankshaft. Both superchargers and turbochargers are used to boost engine power, but they get their power in different ways.

Images for kids

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  A Roots-type supercharger on an AMC V8 engine for drag racing.

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  Animation of a supercharger working.

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  An Eaton M62 Roots-type supercharger on an Ecotec LSJ engine in a 2006 Saturn Ion Red Line.

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  Supercharger CDT vs. ambient temperature. This graph shows how a supercharger's air temperature changes with outside air temperature and altitude.

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  A 1929 "Blower" Bentley. The large supercharger in front of the radiator gave the car its name.

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  A G-Lader scroll-type supercharger on a Volkswagen Golf Mk1.

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  The Rolls-Royce Merlin, a supercharged aircraft engine from World War II. The supercharger is at the rear.

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  Supercharger CDT vs. altitude. This graph shows how air temperature changes with altitude for different types of superchargers on an aircraft.

See also

In Spanish: Sobrealimentador para niños