How a jet engine moves air
Squeeze it, heat it, let it expand. A turbojet turns a continuous stream of air into a fast exhaust jet—with a turbine quietly powering the compressor.
Blade rows add shaft work. Air pressure and temperature rise.
Fuel adds heat to compressed air, with a small pressure loss.
Hot gas expands, giving up energy to turn the shared shaft.
Remaining pressure accelerates the gas rearward. The engine is pushed forward.
05 / The shared shaft: the solid central spindle links turbine blades to compressor blades. Both rotate together; the outer guide vanes stay fixed.
Read the cutaway: teal tracks incoming and compressed air; amber marks combustion heating; violet follows expanding gas through the turbine and nozzle. The casing is opened for visibility, not transparent. Exhaust moves right; thrust on the engine acts left.
This is a qualitative teaching model, not an engine simulation. Throttle links illustrative speed, airflow and heat indices; percentages are not measured RPM, mass flow or thrust. Blade counts, proportions and slow rotation are simplified. Pause freezes motion, not the operating state.