NEW THE MAGAZINE THAT FEEDS MINDS INSIDE INTERVIEW DR YAN WONG TM FROM BBC’S BANG SCIENCE ■ ENVIRONMENT ■ TECHNOLOGY ■ TRANSPORT HISTORY ■ SPACE GOES THE THEORY HEART VOLCANIC BYPASSES ERUPTIONS How modern surgeons Discover the explosive save lives everyday BREAK THE 200MB BARRIER! power beneath Earth SUPERFAST BROADBAND LEARN REVEALED! THE NEXT-GENERATION ABOUT NETWORKS THAT DELIVER ■ CASSINI PROBE WARP-SPEED INTERNET ■ RAINING ANIMALS ■ PLANET MERCURY ■ BATTLE OF BRITAIN THE WORLD’S ■ PLACEBO EFFECT ■ LEANING TOWER OF PISA DEADLIEST ■ THE NERVOUS SYSTEM CHOPPER ■ ANDROID VS iPHONE Inside the Apache ■ AVALANCHES 919 AH-64D Longbow FACTS AND 9 ANSWERS 0 INSIDE £3.99 4 0 0 2 3 7 1 4 0 ISSN 2041-7322 2 7 7 ISSUE NINE ISSUE RACE TO 9 HUMAN SOLAR ROLLER 1,000MPH ALLERGIES© Imagine PublishingFLARES Ltd COASTERS Awesome engineering Why dust,No unauthorisedhair and pollen copyingHow massive or distribution explosions on Heart-stopping secrets of behind the land speed record make us sneeze the Sun affect our planet the world’s wildest rides www.howitworksdaily.com 001_HIW_009.indd 1 27/5/10 16:34:18 © Imagine Publishing Ltd No unauthorised copying or distribution Get in touch Have YOU got a question you want answered by the How It Works team? Get in touch by… Email: [email protected] Web: www.howitworksdaily.com ISSUE NINE Snail mail: How It Works Imagine Publishing, 33 Richmond Hill The magazine that feeds minds! Bournemouth, Dorset, BH2 6EZ ”FEED YOUR MIND!” Welcome to How It Meet the experts The sections explained Works issue 9, and the newest and “Written by experts to be enjoyed The huge amount of info in each most accessible by everyone” is how we like to roll, issue of How It Works is organised so meet the people that work so into these sections science and technology hard to bring you each issue… HISTORY ENVIRONMENT magazine is back The natural world Questions answered Nick Parkin with another Weapons of the Wild West explained on how things worked in the past helping of Nick has a Masters in TRANSPORT nutritious oceanography and philosophy of Be it road, rail, mind. He’s no cowboy but he was air or sea entertainment to feed knowledge- quick on the draw when it came to you’ll find hungry minds everywhere. writing about the weapons of the out about Wild West this issue. it here Editing this magazine could be Aneel Bhangu described as something of a roller Heart bypass coaster, a particularly exciting one with Aneel is a trainee colorectal TECHNOLOGY many more highs than lows, and maybe surgeon in Birmingham, training The wonders of in both cancer surgery and care of modern gadgetry it was the experience of the last eight emergency and trauma patients. and engineering issues that led us to offer the in-depth He is also the author of three SCIENCE explained medical textbooks. explanation of the white-knuckle rides Explaining the Vivienne Raper applications of SPACE that can be found on page 14. If you’ve Geysers science in the From exploration to the solar ever wondered just how you’re being contemporary world system to deep space Vivienne is our go-to gal for earth propelled around a track at breakneck sciences, she gained her PHD by speeds the answers lie just a few page studying polar ice-fields with lasers and radar. This issue we Editor’s pick turns away. asked her to explain geysers and Speed is a recurring theme this issue the results can be seen on page 36. It’s tricky trying to pick a favourite from so many cool and while out-of-control buses carrying Dr Bridget McDermott topics but my choice this issue comes from the History Greek warships section. It’s the 70th anniversary of the Battle of bombs aren’t quite within our remit, the Ancient military technology is the Britain so head to page 74 to discover the machines world land speed record is defi nitely specialist subject for our resident and tactics that defeated the Luftwaffe back in 1940. right up our salt-fl at. While the actual history expert so she was right at home with her assignment on the record attempts are a few years away yet Trireme, the warship that helped we thought it was high time to take a build the mighty Greek empire. look at the contenders who hope to Tom Harris Human nervous system break the awesome 1,000mph limit and their amazing vehicles, so get up to A familiar face who has been with us since issue 1, Tom was one of speed on page 54. the original writers at If roller coasters and rocket cars don’t howstuffworks.com where he headed up an award-winning offer enough blokey excitement then content team. we’ve raised the stakes even further with a rundown of the fi ve most explosive substances on earth, an With thanks to explanation of the Apache gunship How It Works would like to thank the helicopter and a look at why volcanoes following companies and organisations for What you’re saying about How It Works their help in creating this issue erupt. For less testosterone-fuelled Just wanted to say – on like WHOAAA!!!!! – information, you can also fi nd out how behalf of the team – how Miguel Reyes our nervous systems react, why the much we love the magazine! Thanks for putting together tower at Pisa leans and how mankind is – James Walshe, Kerrang! such a great mag, keep it up. searching for new Earths. Radio & Q Radio – Jennifer Ford I would also like to say that Loved the mega yachts your magazine is simply feature! – Dave Carstairs AWESOME!!! And I mean Dave Harfi eld Editor in Chief WWW.HOWITWORKSDAILY.COM How It Works | 003 © Imagine Publishing Ltd No unauthorised copying or distribution 003_HIW_009.indd 3 1/6/10 16:38:00 54 ISSUE NINE Race for 1,000mph ■ The teams from Britain, Australia and the US compete The magazine that feeds minds! for the 1,000mph crown 06Global Eye A selection of jaw-dropping images and news from the realms of science, technology, nature, space and transport 74 The Battle of Britain ■ Learn the story of Britain’s decisive victory 32 Explosions Sections ■ Discover the awesome power behind the most explosive Technology substances on Earth 14 Roller coasters A look behind the amazing engineering that creates some of the wildest rides on Earth 44 18 Milking machines Volcanic eruptions 18 Bulletproof glass ■ Why they erupt and what 19 Touch-sensitive lights happens when they do? 19 Powercube transformers 20 Android vs iPhone 22 Superfast broadband Understanding the technology behind the next generation networks that fly at 200Mbps Science 26 The nervous system The network that relays touch, sensation and pain 28 Allergies 28 The placebo effect 29 Heart bypasses Go to pg 92 for some great deals 004 | How It Works WWW.HOWITWORKSDAILY.COM © Imagine Publishing Ltd No unauthorised copying or distribution 004-005_HIW_009.indd 4 1/6/10 15:41:33 30 Frostbite 31 Fire 32 Explosions Regulars The most explosive substances on Earth revealed and tested 12 How It Works Environment interview 36 Geysers How It Works talks to Dr Yan Wong from BBC’s Bang Goes 38 Crocodile jaws The Theory fame Why crocodiles jaws can be held shut with an elastic band 38 Worms 39 Avalanches 48 Understanding what causes these Apache AH-64D Longbow deadly flows of snow ■ The technology behind the world’s 40 Hummingbirds deadliest helicopter 40 Raining animals 41 Rubies, sapphires and emeralds 43 Fog 43 Petrifaction 64 Because 44 Volcanic eruptions enquiring Search for a new Earth Awesome explosions from beneath the minds want ■ How NASA scientists are looking Earth revealed to know… for a planet just like ours 80 Expert Transport answers Experts from the National 48 Apache AH-64D Longbow Science Museum and the On-board and inside the world’s International Year of deadliest chopper Biodiversity 50 Spark plugs Dr Robert Bloomfi eld 51 Hybrid drive buses Director IYB-UK 53 Wankel rotary engines With a PhD in Genetics, Bob leads 54 Race to 1,000mph the panel of experts Meet the contenders for the land speed from International Year record and the men who plan on of Biodiversity. making history Dan Plane Science Museum Explainer Space Dan performs shows at the museum about 58 Planet Mercury subjects as varied as We take a look inside the smallest planet structures, bubbles 14 and blood. in the solar system and reveal why size Roller coasters isn’t everything… Dominique Sleet ■ The amazing Science Museum Explainer engineering behind 60 Night and day Dominique studied the most amazing 61 Io: The volcanic moon Natural Sciences white-knuckle rides 62 Solar fl ares before becoming a museum explainer. 63 The Cassini probe 64 Search for a new Earth Find out how close NASA is to finding a planet like our own, and discover where it is looking for it History For connoisseurs of kit and savants of stuff 86 The latest 68 Greek warships Inside a Greek Trireme, the ships that reviews made Athens great Pocket digital radios go head-to-head this month 70 Evolution of the bicycle 70 First TV 94 How to make 71 Leaning Tower of Pisa Turn an Every wondered why this landmark Altoids tilts to one side? Well, we have all the tin into answers for you a handy torch 72 Weapons of the Wild West 74 The Battle of Britain 96 How It Works Learn how the RAF defeated the – Inbox Go to pg 92 for some great deals Luftwaffe back in 1940 and the impact it Your chance to have your say on had on the war the magazine and what we do WWW.HOWITWORKSDAILY.COM How It Works | 005 © Imagine Publishing Ltd No unauthorised copying or distribution 004-005_HIW_009.indd 5 1/6/10 15:42:09 We say goodbye Sadly, after contributing to issue 7’s article on optical illusions, Professor Richard Gregory passed away on 17 May at the age of 87.