Home > Encyclopedia of Science > Jet Engine

• Scientific principle behind jet engines
• Words to Know
• Types of jet engines

A jet engine is a heat engine that is propelled in a forward direction as the result of the escape of hot gases from the rear of the engine. In an airbreathing jet engine, air entering the front of the engine is used to burn a fuel within the engine, producing the hot gases needed for propulsion (forward movement). Jet engines are used for the fastest commercial and military aircraft now available.

Scientific principle behind jet engines

The scientific principle on which the jet engine operates was first stated in scientific terms by English physicist and mathematician Isaac Newton (1642–1727) in 1687. According to Newton's third law of...