Since the invention of the internal combustion engine, scientists and engineers have worked to increase its efficiency. As it stands, the average internal combustion automobile engine only converts about 20% of its energy into useful motivational energy. Most of the rest is spent through heat loss at various locations. An automobile's cooling system is used to remove heat from all moving parts so that they can continue to function properly without melting, seizing, or overheating. If an engine were ideal, it would give off no heat because all its energy would be converted into power transferred to the wheels, but such an engine does not exist in reality. With all the many moving parts that need to stay in contact with each other (in order to maintain compression and prevent various other leaks), friction is inevitable, as is heat. The car's cooling system is therefore extremely important. How it works is essentially a simple matter of heat transfer. Water-cooled vehicles use a combination of air and liquid cooling mechanisms, routing coolant pipes past the hottest parts of the engine so that heat can be transferred from engine parts to the coolant, which then returns to the radiator to be cooled by the incoming air. . Air-cooled vehicles typically have large fans strategically installed on the engine and heat dissipation fins on the cylinder heads. What may surprise some is that the heater in your car's cabin is actually part of the car's cooling system. The heat removed from the engine is simply routed to the cabin so that the driver does not freeze to death in the middle of winter. Removing this heat draws cooler air into the engine bay... middle of paper...... I prefer to have clean air, myself... Conclusion It may seem like There is no significant benefit to the inefficiency of internal combustion engines. After all, they waste fuel, resources and money; they pollute the environment and create potential health risks; and for some people, there may be too many problems going on at home to be worth trying to understand. However, I will always remain true to my love for the elaborately choreographed dance that takes place in a combustion engine; all parts working in time to create a beautiful, gas-guzzling, ozone-depleting, peace-disrupting piece of steel, rubber, glass and aluminum that can go from 0 to 60 in seconds only. And I'd love to hear anyone curse their engine's inefficient heat loss while pumping 70° air into a -40° cabin at 6 a.m. in the middle of the freezing Fairbanks winter..