Turbine engine

All turbine engines, which are also called gas turbines or jet engines, work on the same principle. The engine sucks air in at the front with a fan. A compressor raises the pressure of the air. The compressor is made with many blades attached to a shaft. The blades spin at high speed and compress or squeeze the air. The compressed air is then sprayed with fuel and an electric spark lights the mixture. The burning gases expand and blast out through the nozzle, at the back of the engine. As the jets of gas shoot backward, the engine and the aircraft are thrust forward. As the hot air is going to the nozzle, it passes through another group of blades called the turbine. The turbine is attached to the same shaft as the compressor. Spinning the turbine causes the compressor to spin. The energy that is not used for compressing the working fluid comes out in the exhaust gases that can be used to do external work, such as directly producing thrust in a turbojet engine, or rotating a second, independent turbine (known as a power turbine) connected to the fan and cause it to spin.