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

What happens if you throw sand into a jet engine?

Veritasium takes you on a whirlwind tour of jet engine basics, from how they suck in air and compress it to the giant nickel superalloys and single-crystal turbine blades that withstand temperatures above 1,600 °C. Along the way you’ll peek inside a Rolls-Royce casting facility, learn about edge dislocations, crystal structures and the history of jet propulsion—all explained with slick animations and on-site expertise.

In a playful finale, Derek Muller hurls sand into an engine to show how even tiny abrasive grains can gouge compressor blades, wreck airflow and trigger catastrophic failure. It’s a lighthearted dive into materials science, precision engineering and the gritty reality of keeping jet engines flying.

Watch on YouTube