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Old 22nd May 2014, 22:13
  #16 (permalink)  
Chu Chu
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Virginia
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Hot air is less dense than cool air. In in a piston engine, higher temperature means fewer molecules of air (and therefore oxygen) can fit in the cylinder at a given pressure, less fuel can be burned, and less power can be created. Increasing the pressure to compensate would only compound the detonation and wear issues from the high temperature itself.

I don't know whether there's a parallel effect with turbine engines.
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