Don't ever think that way.
The fact that you are asking questions proves that you're not "delayed"; the fact that you happened upon the best science site on the net is good fortune on your part.
I, in fact, didn't think of your question as cut-and-dried because I didn't know exactly what you were asking. Apparently, Average ( Gotcha again, pal) interpreted it properly. My first question would have been about the specifics of what you meant by "outside of an IC engine". A piston cannot work outside of a cylinder. That's the way that I first interpreted your post, because I take things literally. If you had said "aside from in an IC engine" then it would have been easier.