The Ridiculous Engineering Of Jet Engines

How does a jet engine not melt? Sponsored by KiwiCo - Use code VERITASIUM to get 50% off your first monthly KiwiCo Crate! https://www.kiwico.com/VERITASIUM Want to start your own crystal garden? https://www.kiwico.com/crystalchemistry In 2025, we launched the Elements of Truth game on Kickstarter and were thrilled by the response. We’re now in the final stages of production, with Kickstarter rewards shipping soon. If you missed the campaign, you can now pre-order the retail edition through our new website here -https://ve42.co/JetEnginesDesc If you’re looking for a molecular modelling kit, try Snatoms, a kit I invented where the atoms snap together magnetically - https://ve42.co/SnatomsV Sign up for the Veritasium newsletter for weekly science updates - https://ve42.co/Newsletter ▀▀▀ 0:00 How a jet engine works 3:18 Why are jet engines so big? 5:17 The Inside of a Jet Engine 8:49 Edge Dislocation 11:11 The First Jet Engine 12:48 Inside the Rolls-Royce Precision Casting Facility 17:07 Nickel Superalloys - Gamma Prime 23:58 Crystal Structure 25:38 Making a Turbine Blade 32:22 Why don’t turbine blades melt? 35:30 Throwing Sand Into a Jet Engine ▀▀▀ A big thanks to Ben Todd, James Banks, Ben Fifoot, Doug Smith, Stefan Wagner, Rumaanah Hoosen and the rest of the team at Rolls-Royce. A huge thanks also to Professor Howard Stone and Dr George Wise from the University of Cambridge. We’re also incredibly grateful to Professor Jaafar A. El-Awady, Dr Karen A Thole, Professor Cathie Rae, Professor Paul Withey, Professor Pedro Patrício, Professor José Tavares and Ryan Moreman for their time and expertise. Thanks to Institute for Materials, Ruhr University Bochum, SFB Transregio 103 for the animation showing the microstructure of the nickel superalloy. Full youtube video here -    • From atoms to turbine blades – a scale bri...   Thanks to Professor Hongbiao Dong for the animation showing the grain selection in a single crystal turbine blade. Full youtube video here:    • Grain selection: single crystal turbine bl...   References: https://ve42.co/JetEngineRefs ▀▀▀ Special thanks to our Patreon supporters: Adam Foreman, Albert Wenger, Alex Porter, Alexander Tamas, Anton Ragin, Anupam Banerjee, armedtoe, Bertrand Serlet, Blake Byers, Bruce, Dave Kircher, David Johnston, David Tseng, Evgeny Skvortsov, Garrett Mueller, Gnare, gpoly, Hayden Christensen, Ibby Hadeed, Jeromy Johnson, Jon Jamison, Juan Benet, KeyWestr, Kyi, Lee Redden, Marinus Kuivenhoven, Matthias Wrobel, Meekay, meg noah, Michael Bush, Michael Krugman, Orlando Bassotto, Paul Peijzel, Richard Sundvall, Robert Oliveira, Sam Lutfi, Tj Steyn, Ubiquity Ventures & wolfee ▀▀▀ Writers - Emilia Gyles, Casper Mebius & Derek Muller Producer & Director - Emilia Gyles Presenters - Derek Muller & Henry Van Dyck Editor - Trenton Oliver Camera Operators - Jack Coathupe, Justin Wood, Emilia Gyles, Henry Van Dyck & Derek Muller Animators - Mike Radjabov, Emma Wright & Fabio Albertelli Additional Editors - James Stuart & Peter Nelson Researcher - Aakash Singh Bagga Thumbnail Designers - Ren Hurley, Ben Powell & Abdallah Rabah Production Team - Josh Pitt, Matthew Cavanagh, Anna Milkovic & Katy Southwood Executive Producers - Casper Mebius & Derek Muller Additional video/photos supplied by Getty Images, Storyblocks Music from Epidemic Sound