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air engine

British  

noun

  1. an engine that uses the expansion of heated air to drive a piston

  2. a small engine that uses compressed air to drive a piston

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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The essentials of the air engine are extremely simple: a "hot space" heated by an external firebox, a "cold space" cooled by water or air, and two pistons.

From Time Magazine Archive

With the exception of the English lime, all grout was mixed 1 to 1 with sand in a Cockburn continuous-stirring machine operated by a 3-cylinder air engine.

From Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers, vol. LXVIII, Sept. 1910 The New York Tunnel Extension of the Pennsylvania Railroad. The East River Tunnels. Paper No. 1159 by Brace, James H.

A. For small powers the hot air engine is most economical, but we do not think it adapted to your purpose.

From Scientific American, Volume XLIII., No. 25, December 18, 1880 A Weekly Journal of Practical Information, Art, Science, Mechanics, Chemistry, and Manufactures. by Various

Which will be best, hot air engine or steam engine?

From Scientific American, Volume XLIII., No. 25, December 18, 1880 A Weekly Journal of Practical Information, Art, Science, Mechanics, Chemistry, and Manufactures. by Various

Herring made for this a compressed air engine and claimed that with this he accomplished a flight of seventy-three feet.

From Story of the Aeroplane by Galbreath, C. B. (Charles Burleigh)

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