ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Crude oil engine

Imagine you have a sticker sheet with different shapes on it, like circles and squares. You want to make a picture with these stickers, so you stick them on a piece of paper in a certain order.

Now, let's say that the stickers are like tiny little machines that can move and do work. You can make them do different things by putting them in different positions. That's kind of how an engine works.

An engine is like a machine that takes something called fuel and turns it into energy. The fuel is like the stickers, and the engine is like the piece of paper. But instead of stickers, we use a special kind of fuel called crude oil.

Crude oil is a sticky substance that comes from deep underground. It's kind of like syrup, but instead of being made from plants, it's made from the remains of tiny sea creatures that lived millions of years ago.

We take the crude oil from the ground and process it into different things, like gasoline, which is what we put into our cars. When the gasoline gets into the engine, it mixes with air and turns into a gas. This gas is like the stickers on the piece of paper - it's ready to do work!

The engine has lots of little parts that work together to turn the energy from the gasoline into motion. Think of it like a team of people working together to build something. Each person has a different job, and they all have to work together to get the job done.

When the engine is running, it makes a lot of noise and creates a lot of heat. That's because it's working really hard to turn the gasoline into energy. Just like how you might get sweaty if you run around too much, the engine gets hot because it's working so hard.

So, in summary, a crude oil engine is like a machine that takes a special kind of fuel called crude oil and turns it into energy to make things move. It's kind of like sticking stickers on a piece of paper, but instead of stickers, we use crude oil. And just like how you might get tired and sweaty from running around, the engine gets hot and makes noise because it's working so hard.