noun
hot-bulb engine; semi-diesel engine
Technical term for a type of internal combustion engine, also known as a hot-bulb or semi-diesel engine. Used in engineering and historical contexts.
焼き玉機関は、かつて漁船などに広く使われていた。
Hot-bulb engines were once widely used in fishing boats and the like.
A true diesel engine, which uses compression ignition without a hot bulb. 焼き玉機関 is a simpler, older design that uses a heated bulb to aid ignition.
Compound of 焼き玉 (yakidama, 'hot bulb') and 機関 (kikan, 'engine'). The term directly describes the engine's characteristic hot-bulb ignition system.