How to Sound Smart: Motors vs. Engines Edition

I went to a women’s university for a couple semesters of college.  It taught me a lot of really fascinating things.  The Art of Engines was not one of them.  I had no idea what the difference was between an engine and motor.  (po-tato, pot-ato – right?)  While I love the all-girl learning environment, I’ll admit there are a few times when a girl really needs to get down and dirty… or at least know what she’s talking about while the guys get greasy.  Remember our talk about table saws?  Well now we’re on to engines versus motors – the heartbeat of half our home.

Here’s that half now!

airplane engine

Martin is preparing to give me another engine lesson with one of the planes that’s being worked on at the airport.  As you can imagine, a pilot needs to know some basics here in case of engine failure or troubles mid-flight and how to maximize performance.  I’ve started calling him “Teach”.  And “Professor”.  And sometimes “Smarty Pants”.

The differences between motors and engines are so vague.  You look them up in a dictionary, and they practically sound like the same thing.  Then you go up to an airplane mechanic who is working on a plane and try to start a conversation by saying, “Boy that motor is ready for an overhaul, aye?”

You may have no idea what it means to do an overhaul on a plane.  It doesn’t matter.  He’s already rolling his eyes.  You just called an engine a motor.

So bare bones (and completely subject to dictionary debate), here’s all you need to know:

* A motor converts electricity or other forms of kinetic energy into a mechanical motion *

* An engine is a mechanical device that uses a fuel source to create an output *

When I talk to the guys, I just try to remember that in their world, if it needs fuel, it’s an engine.  So a car = engine.  An airplane = engine.  A remote control car = motor.  Electric toothbrush and your blender = motor.  A weed wacker = engine or motor (what’s your energy source?).

You get the idea.  And we learned it all without getting grease on our hands.  Yeah!

Any other slips you know of?  Technical words that always trip you up?  Or maybe you don’t even notice.  I’m wondering if women’s universities should offer a class like Man Talk 101.  What would be mandatory topics, I wonder…