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Why it's so hard to build a jet engine

Civilization's toughest technical challenges are those that require extraordinary (and constantly improving) performance to be delivered at a low cost.

The most advanced semiconductors have features that are 1/2000th the width of a human hair and are made from materials where even a few atoms in the wrong place can cause catastrophic defects, thus requiring incredible levels of control and precision during the production process. He referred to many of the issues in converting to jets: things like relatively large diameter parts with very thin walls and all of the compressor and turbine components and airfoils with ‘a great variety of aerodynamic shapes of such awkward dimensions that our designers often complain that they have neither a beginning nor an ending.’ Examination of the engines following early tests showed that the combustion chamber lining was burnt and distorted, seals were breaking down, stators were cracking, and the layers of carbon fiber in the fan blade were delaminating.

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