How does an afterburner work?

A jet engine, like a rocket engine , is a reaction engine. It works by throwing mass in one direction and taking advantage of the reaction in the opposite direction. In the case of a jet engine, the engine burns fuel (like kerosene) with air from the atmosphere. The burning fuel heats and expands the air, and this hot air shoots out of the exhaust-end of the engine to create thrust. Most modern jet engines use a turbine to improve the efficiency of the engine and allow the engine to work at low speeds. One part of the turbine sucks in air and compresses it before the fuel is injected. The back portion of the turbine acts like a windmill, extracting energy from the exhaust gases and using the energy to spin the compressor portion. See How Jet Engines Work for details. A modern turbine engine is extremely efficient, and there is still a lot of oxygen available in the exhaust stream. The idea behind an afterburner is to inject fuel directly into the exhaust stream and burn it using this ...  more

A jet engine, like a rocket engine , is a reaction engine. It works by throwing mass in one direction and taking advantage of the reaction in the opposite direction. In the case of a jet engine, the engine burns fuel (like kerosene) with air from the atmosphere. The burning fuel heats and expands the air, and this hot air shoots out of the exhaust-end of the engine to create thrust. Most modern jet engines use a turbine to improve the efficiency of the engine and allow the engine to work at low speeds. One part of the turbine sucks in air and compresses it before the fuel is injected. The back portion of the turbine acts like a windmill, extracting energy from the exhaust gases and using the energy to spin the compressor portion. See How Jet Engines Work for details. A modern turbine engine is extremely efficient, and there is still a lot of oxygen available in the exhaust stream. The idea behind an afterburner is to inject fuel directly into the exhaust stream and burn it using this ...  more