The Jet Engine

The jet engine produces much more power than propellor engines and allows planes to travel much faster – faster than the speed of sound (supersonic). Many commercial airliners and all supersonic military planes use jet engines. There are four stages in the working of a jet engine.

  1. Air is sucked in through the air intake

  2. Air is compressed by the compressor blades

  3. Fuel is squirted into the combustion chamber where it burns continuously

  4. The burnt gases expand and are blown out of the back, producing a forward force on the engine according to Newton's Third Law – to every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. As the gases move bacj=kwads they turn a turbine attached to the compressor which keeps it turning.