An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert energy into useful mechanical motion. Heat engines, including internal combustion engines and external combustion engines (such as steam engines) burn a fuel to create heat, which then creates motion. Electric motors convert electrical energy into mechanical motion, pneumatic motors use compressed air and others—such as clockwork motors in wind-up toys—use elastic energy. In biological systems, molecular motors, like myosins in muscles, use chemical energy to create motion.
the term transmission refers to the whole drive train, including clutch, gearbox, prop shaft (for rear-wheel drive), differential, and final drive shafts. In American English, however, a gearbox is any device that converts speed and torque, whereas a transmission is a type of gearbox that can be “shifted” to dynamically change the speed-torque ratio such as in a vehicle.
