What happens if you throw sand into a jet engine?

Veritasium dives into how jet engines work—from airflow and compressor stages to the superalloy turbine blades that wouldn’t melt under insane temperatures. You get a backstage tour of Rolls-Royce’s precision casting, learn about nickel-based superalloys (gamma prime), and see how single-crystal blades are grown to survive intense heat without warping.

Then comes the big question: sand ingestion. Tiny grains can erode fan blades, clog cooling channels and even partially melt to form glassy deposits that choke the turbine. In short, sand wrecks your engine’s delicate cooling system and corrodes the very materials designed to keep it running.

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