Jet engines

or: metal grown like a gem to fly home for an argument

We grow every turbine blade as one single crystal of metal, coat it in ceramic, fill it with cooling channels, and spin it 12,000 times a minute¹ in gas at 1,700 degrees Celsius, which is hotter than the metal’s own melting point, while each blade holds on against a pull of up to ten tonnes². One ring of those blades turns out over 50,000 horsepower, about as much as 68 Formula 1 cars, just to turn the compressor.

And we use it to fly home for Thanksgiving and argue about the turkey.

How it works, badly

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We grow each blade as one big crystal of metal.
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Then we spin it in fire hotter than its own melting point.
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Cool air leaks out of tiny holes so it doesn’t melt.
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Then we fly four hours to argue about the turkey.

Wait, is that real?

Yes, the blades really do run hotter than their melting point.

The blades↩

Turbine blades in big jet engines are grown from a single crystal of a nickel-based alloy, which leaves no weak boundaries between crystals for the heat to pull apart. Rolls-Royce says the gas in the high pressure turbine of its Trent engines reaches 1,700 degrees Celsius, in excess of the melting point of the alloy, so the blades need a ceramic coating and internal air cooling to survive. Each blade also withstands a centrifugal pull of up to ten tonnes.

The spin↩

In the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000, which powers the Boeing 787, the high pressure turbine blades rotate at 12,000 rpm, and that turbine generates over 50,000 horsepower, which Rolls-Royce compares to 68 Formula 1 racing cars. Its job is to drive the compressor at the front of the engine. The fan at the front is 112 inches across.

The holiday rush↩

On Sunday, November 30, 2025, the Sunday after Thanksgiving, the TSA screened more than 3.1 million people, the busiest day in its history.

The fine print↩

The 1,700 degrees is the gas around the blades, not the metal itself: the coating and the cooling air keep the metal below its melting point, which is the whole trick. The speed and horsepower figures are for one engine family; other engines differ. Four hours is a typical cross-country flight, not a measured average, and whether the turkey was dry is outside the scope of this page.

Sources: Rolls-Royce: Trent 1000 by the numbers; Rotherham Business News: Rolls-Royce single crystal turbine blades; ABC News: TSA sets all-time record

Last fact-checked October 28, 2026.