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| Jet engines take in air, compress it, mix it with fuel and ignite the mixture. The gas generated produces immense pressure inside the ignition chamber and escapes from the nozzle creating tremendous thrust. As the gas escapes from the rear of the engine a force is produced pushing the engine forwards according to Newton's Third Law of Motion. | |
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Jet engines are so powerful that they can power commercial aircraft to supersonic speeds. |
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Air, being sucked into a jet, passes through several sets of rotating blades known as a turbines. These blades compress the air before it enters the ignition chamber. |
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Once in the ignition chamber the air and fuel mixture is ignited. A great deal of heat is released and more gas is created as a product of the combustion reaction . The heat causes the gas molecules to accelerate at great speeds. This creates enormous pressure in the ignition chamber and the gas molecules escape out the nozzle with immense force. Look at the animation on the right which shows the relationship between heat and speed of individual gas molecules. |