Veritasium: What happens if you throw sand into a jet engine?

What happens if you throw sand into a jet engine? Veritasium unpacks the inner workings of a jet engine—from the basics of compressors and turbines to the history of Frank Whittle’s first design. You’ll get a backstage pass to Rolls-Royce’s precision casting facility, learn how single-crystal nickel superalloys (with their gamma-prime precipitates) keep turbine blades from melting at over 1,600 °C, and see detailed animations of crystal structures and edge dislocations.

Then comes the moment of truth: sand meets spinning blades. Those tiny abrasive grains gouge away coatings, nick the superalloy surface and accelerate wear—showing exactly why debris ingestion is a nightmare for engine performance, safety and maintenance.

Watch on YouTube