I saw one of these on Star Wars Episode 1.

@gundark: Indeed, I think it belonged to Boles Roor or Clegg Holdfast or something.

@gundark:

Actually two.

this how i get to work

Ever see B-52 Stratofortress engine? Absolutely puny, since there's eight of 'em. Same thing here--the A380's got a four-pot, but the 777 makes do with only two--two ginormous engines.

i work on the comet holmes

It's not impossible. I use to bullsye wamp rats in my T-16 back home.

Doc Brown invented something similar to that...

Too bad there's no footage of it being powered up.

@KAISER -
They have to shut it down for a while when those pesky pit droids get sucked into the intake.

@tek_nic: Giz, home of the perpetual Star Wars reference XD

I want to see this thing punt a school bus.

A precursor to the warp drive this went on to power a prototype USS Enterprise.

Wouldn't the engines in an aircraft carrier or a cruise ship be more powerful?

I'm just sayin'.

I've seen a video of its predecessor, and that thing would rip concrete out of the runway they were testing it on.

@hakubak:

most powerful gas TURBINE engine. aircraft carriers and cruise ships- boats in general- do not run on gas turbines.

Jet!
-with the wind in your hair
Of a thousand laces
Climb on the back and we'll go for a ride in the sky
And Jet I thought
that the major was a little lady suffragette

@extrasport161: You're right, but too bad the Giz didn't make that distinction. Sloppy.

Other engines that are more powerful can be found at Cape Canaveral, Baikonur, and a few other places.

I thought the most powerful engine was the ionic thruster developed by NASA for deep space exploration.

[geaviation.com]

Now THATS an engine!

[www.k4viz.com]

@Brock:

yes he's totally right - Saturn V hasn't been beat yet for power (and complexity).

these mommas are so big - in case one fails on take off - the other can manage for both (its true)

Also useful as a giant "Magic Bullet" for blending swimming pools of fruit smoothies and pina coladas "as easy as 1...2...3"

If you really want to feel the size, next time you go on a Southwest Airlines flight in a 737, realize you are standing inside the fuselage which happens to be the same size as this engine.

I'll be impressed when it is mounted to 4 wheels and taken for a ride down salt flats.

@hakubak: @extrasport161: GE has quite a few gas turbine marine applications. [www.geaviation.com]

GE has 3 production model marine engines LM2500, LM1600 and LM500. The largest of which is used in several destroyers, aegis class cruisers, and even smaller aircraft carrier applications.

the video says the fan diameter is 123" not 128" just thought i might point that out.

@tranism: The electrostatic ion thruster is by no means the most powerful engine in terms of thrust or acceleration. In fact, very little thrust or acceleration is afforded in exchange for a very high operating lifespan.

I'm sorry, but I have to say it...will it blend?

@tranism: While it looks really cool, they really produce very little thrust.
Consulting my Space Mission Analysis and Design (SMAD) book, the most you'll get out of ion propulsion is about .5 N or about 0.112 lbs of thrust.

The great thing about ion propulsion though is it's really efficient for the amount of fuel it requires so we use it for long missions and just keep it burning for months where normal rockets can't do that.

IF you are ever in Cincinnati, definitely stop by the GE Aircraft Engines plant. There is a learning center where they have all the engines on display and you can basically touch them.

could that guy sound any less interested in answering questions? Seriously, your standing next to the most powerful engine on planet earth, and he looks like he's bored....

This will be the great granddaddy to the "wave motion engine"

@tdj114: Nope, it won't blend... but you will if you stand too close whilst this thing is on.

It's not surprising that it's not on the A380 since that monstrosity has 4 engines. The triple seven was designed for 2 engines.

@vr4z06gt:

he meant the outer engine casing being bigger than 737/757/707 fuselage...

i saw a documentary on the 777 a while back and all the safety testing involved(both the plane and this engine)...it was BONKERS! apparently the #1 reason planes crash is that junk gets sucked into the engine, so they put a set of chopping blades on the front to shred whatever fell in so the engine wouldnt fail. then they started chucking ENTIRE FROZEN ALBATROSSES (?!?) into the thing and even in super slo-motion they pretty much just instantly turned into a pink blur. then they threw in sheets of ice the size of dining room tables, steel drums full of concrete, and finally, dynamite. it still ran.

apparently this plane/engine was the first to be TOTALLY designed by computer

This engine is sick!!! It also breaks apart into 2 parts; engine and turbine. Before the GE-90 engines had to be replaced in full. With this bad boy, if your turbine gets mucked up from flying into too many flocks of geese for instance you can replace it separate from your fully functioning engine saving money and down time (for the money grubbing airlines of course). A 777 can also sustain flight on one of these for like 4 hours if things go terribly wrong..haha

@sexyrobot: Youtube is an amazing thing! [www.youtube.com]