Although electronics are almost universally used to ignite the gases of an internal combustion engine today, these engines were first developed using much different ignition methods. The earliest internal combustion engines burned a gas called illuminating or coal gas that was widely used in city street lights. The use of gasoline as a fuel came much later in internal combustion engine development.

These early internal combustion engines used a burning flame to ignite the coal gas fuel. A flame was kept burning in a compartment next to the cylinder where the coal gas was induced. At precisely the right moment, a sliding valve would open and the flame would ignite the gas within the cylinder. The flame would be blown out, and, after combustion, another valve would have to be slid open to expose still another flame to re-ignite the internal flame used to ignite the...