Patent ID: 8240293

Claim:
An ignition apparatus comprising: a dielectric constant controller controlling dielectric constant of a mixture of reactive gas and oxidation gas in a combustion/reaction field, within a heat engine or plasma apparatus, by introducing water and/or recycled exhaust gas into the combustion/reaction field where combustion reaction or plasma reaction of the mixture is carried out, producing an exhaust gas; a microwave radiator radiating microwave into the combustion/reaction field so as to increase temperature of the mixture in the combustion/reaction field and performing plasma discharge in the combustion/reaction field so as to increase radical concentration, so that characteristics of flame ignition is improved and flame propagation speed is promoted; and an igniter igniting the mixture in the combustion/reaction field by discharge, wherein the dielectric constant controller controls the dielectric constant of the mixture before the combustion reaction of the mixture is carried out in the combustion/reaction field so as to allow resonance frequency of the mixture in the combustion/reaction field to resonate with frequency of the microwave radiated from the microwave radiator.