Outside of the technical issues, there is a concern about turning foodâcorn in the U.S.âinto fuel. Partially driven by an 8-percent rise in corn orders from ethanol plants, corn prices doubled in the last six months of 2010 and are expected to continue rising. There are benefits to ethanol, of course. It has a higher octane rating, so it supports a higher compression ratio and more aggressive ignition timing. Like its cousin methanol, with its high octane and clean burn, ethanol makes a good racing fuel. NASCAR, a politically astute organization, is running E85 this season.
I agree with Diane that with this meaning of the word cylinder it has 3 faces, 2 edges and no vertices. There is however a technical meaning of the word cylinder that results in a different answer.
A piston is a sliding plug that fits closely inside the bore of a cylinder. Its purpose is either to change the volume enclosed by the cylinder, or to exert a force on a fluid inside the cylinder. The piston is an important component of piston engines and hydraulic systems. In an Otto or Diesel engine, the concave head of the piston forms one wall of an expansion chamber inside the cylinder. The opposite wall, called the cylinder head, contains inlet and exhaust valves for gases.