|
SUCK, SQUEEZE, BURN, BLOW
Remember when we got on the
aircraft, and we had a look in the front of the engine? When that big
fan in the front rotates, it sucks a load of air in - SUCK. Why doesn't
it blow air out like any other fan? Because it's built back to front.
Clever or what? The air that is sucked in travels through a series of
smaller and smaller fans called the compressor. Guess what this does?
Yes! It compresses or squeezes the air and this gives it a bit more
speed (whoops! Physics alert) - SQUEEZE. Now, once we've got fast
squeezed air, we inject a bit of aviation fuel into it. This fuel/air
mixture is fairly volatile, so what do we do with it? We set it on fire
and burn it - BURN. Did somebody say fire?! Don't fret. It's all
controlled in an enclosed area called the combustion chamber. Anyway,
the hot air is now forced out of the back of the engine under it's own
energy and this pushes the aircraft forward - BLOW. So you see:
SUCK, SQUEEZE, BURN, BLOW. |