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

In this Veritasium deep-dive, Derek Muller (with a cameo from Henry Van Dyck) unpacks how jet engines work—from massive airflow and combustion chambers to the mind-blowing materials science that keeps turbine blades from melting. You’ll get a backstage pass to Rolls-Royce’s precision casting facility, learn about nickel-based superalloys and single-crystal blades, and see how crystal structure and edge dislocations affect high-temperature performance.

Then, in the grand finale, we find out exactly why sand is a jet engine’s worst nightmare. By hurling abrasive particles into the turbine, the video shows how erosion and blade damage can cascade into catastrophic failure—proving that even the most advanced engineering isn’t immune to a handful of grit.

Watch on YouTube