How do jet engines work?
I would love to help you demystify how these incredible machines fly us across the world! Before we dive into the machinery, let's make sure we tailor this explanation to exactly what you are looking for.
To help me match your pace and depth, could you tell me a little about your background? Are you looking for a friendly, high-level overview, or are you interested in a more technical, engineering-focused explanation?
Just a high-level overview, please!
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Key Components of a Gas Turbine
Types of Jet Engines
The Magic of Action and Reaction
To understand how a massive metal aircraft stays in the sky, we have to start with a concept from the formulated by Sir Isaac Newton: Newton's Third Law of Motion.
You've probably heard this law phrased as: for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
Imagine you are standing on a skateboard and you throw a heavy bowling ball forward as hard as you can. What happens to you? You roll backward! The "action" is throwing the ball forward; the "opposite reaction" is your body being pushed in the other direction.
A works exactly the same way. Instead of throwing a bowling ball, it throws a massive, high-speed stream of hot air out of its tailpipe. The "action" is blowing that air backward, and the "reaction" is the entire airplane being thrust forward.