jet engine: Quick Facts

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Last updated

Nov. 11, 2026

News •

The engine parts that 'fight the laws of the universe' • Nov. 5, 2026, 7:06 PM ET (BBC)

Photos

Large jet engine with exposed metal components and fan blades, mounted on a stand outdoors.

Typical operating conditions of a jet engine

Diagram showing a turboshaft engine powering a helicopter rotor. The labeled components include compressor, combustion chamber, core turbine, power turbine, output shaft, gearbox, rotor head, and rotor blades.

Turboprop engine driving a single rotation propeller

Ultrahigh-bypass engine

High-bypass turbofan

Diagram of a low-bypass turbofan jet engine with afterburner, showing labeled parts including inlet, low-pressure fan, high-pressure compressor, combustion chamber, core and fan turbines, mixer, afterburner, variable exhaust nozzle, and jet flow direction.

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Topics

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Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic

airplane: Jet engines

Key People

Frank Whittle

Sir Frank Whittle

British inventor and aviator

Ohain, Hans Joachim Pabst von

Hans Joachim Pabst von Ohain

German designer

Bell, Lawrence

Lawrence Dale Bell

American aircraft designer

ornithopter. Airplane and Aircraft. 3D illustration of Leonardo da Vinci's plans for an ornithopter, a flying machine kept aloft by the beating of its wings; about 1490.

Inventions: From Bayonets to Jet Engines

ball bearing. Disassembled ball bearing. rotational friction Automobile Industry, Engineering, Industry, Machine Part, Metal Industry, Sphere, Steel, Wheel

Inventors and Inventions