When you go to an airport and see the commercial jets there, you can't help but notice the huge ­engines that power them. Most commercial jets are powered by turbofan engines, and turbofans are one example of a general class of engines called gas turbine engines.

You may have never heard of gas turbine engines, but they are used in all kinds of unexpected places. For example, many of the helicopters you see, a lot of s­maller power plants and even the M-1 Tank use gas turbines. In this article, we will look at gas turbine engines to see what makes them tick!

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