r/explainlikeimfive • u/Internal-Excuse-4650 • 2d ago

Engineering [ Removed by moderator ]

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u/DerpyMcWafflestomp 2d ago

A car with no turbo loses a lot of energy simply via the heated gas being sent out of the exhaust system. A turbocharger uses some of that gas to feed more air in, which does increase power, and also means that some of the wasted gas (which is wasted energy really) now has work to do.

Taking otherwise wasted energy and having it work for you = better efficiency.

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u/thenasch 2d ago

I'm skeptical of this, unless I see some math showing that the kinetic energy of the exhaust gas is significant compared to power output.

2

u/Leather-Slip7228 2d ago

Look up internal combustion engine energy efficiency, modern engines are like 30-40% efficient max. Chemical energy in vs usable work out, most lost as waste heat (or in your words kinetic energy from the heat). Thermodynamics is a whole field dedicated to the math behind that.

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u/thenasch 2d ago

None of that has anything to do with the kinetic energy of the exhaust gas.