How a Jet Engine Works

[00:00:02]Every time a plane takes off, it relies on one of the most powerful machines ever invented, the jet engine. But, how does it actually work?

[00:00:10]>> A jet engine works on four basic stages: intake, compression, combustion, and exhaust. Together, these stages produce massive thrust to push the aircraft forward.

[00:00:20]>> It all begins at the intake. A giant fan at the front spins at incredible speed, pulling in massive amounts of air from the atmosphere.

[00:00:30]>> These fan blades, often over 6 ft in diameter, are precisely engineered to maximize airflow. In fact, the fan alone generates up to 75% of the engine's total thrust.

[00:00:40]>> The air then enters the compressor, which is made up of multiple rows of spinning blades. These blades squeeze the air tighter and tighter, raising its pressure dramatically. By the time air exits the compressor, its pressure can be 40 times higher than when it entered.

[00:00:56]This highly compressed air is the key to releasing enormous energy.

[00:01:00]>> The compressed air now enters the combustion chamber, where jet fuel is sprayed in and ignited. This creates a mild explosion, burning continuously at over 2,000° C.

[00:01:10]>> The burning gases expand rapidly, releasing a tremendous amount of energy.

[00:01:15]This energy is what drives everything else in the engine, and ultimately what moves the plane.

[00:01:20]>> Hot, expanding gases through the turbine, a set of blades connected by a shaft to the compressor and fan. As the gas spins the turbine, it simultaneously powers the compressor at the front.

[00:01:30]>> It's a brilliant, self-sustaining loop.

[00:01:32]The turbine extracts energy from the burning gases and uses it to keep the compressor [music] and fan spinning.

[00:01:38]The engine essentially powers itself.

[00:01:40]This is Newton's third law in action.

[00:01:42]For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Gases shoot backward, the plane is pushed forward. Simple, yet extraordinary. Modern jet engines also use something called bypass air. A large portion of the intake air skips combustion entirely and flows around the engine core, adding extra thrust more [music] efficiently. This makes jet engines far more powerful and efficient than traditional piston engines, capable of propelling aircraft to speeds of over 900 km/h at 35,000 ft in the air. There are actually several types of jet engines, turbojets, turbofans, turboprops, and ramjets, each designed for different aircraft, speeds, and altitudes. Today, jet engines power over 100,000 flights every [music] single day, connecting continents, transporting billions of people, and making the world a much smaller place. Intake, compression, combustion, [music] exhaust, that turned human flight into everyday reality. The jet engine remains one of mankind's greatest engineering achievements.

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