NEW THE MAGAZINE THAT FEEDS MINDS INSIDE UPGRADE TM SCIENCE ■ ENVIRONMENT ■ TECHNOLOGY ■ TRANSPORT ■ HISTORY ■ SPACE YOUR EYES! EXTREME WEATHER SHARK ATTACK Tornadoes, tsunamis and hurricanes How one of the planet’s oldest killers hunts its prey iPHONE 3GS Inside the world’s greatest gadget 831 FACTS AND ANSWERS INSIDE FIREWORKS The simple science behind breathtaking displays revealed WHY WE GET DRUNK The effects of alcohol on the body TYPHOON VS F-22THE SCIENCE RAPTOR AND TECHNOLOGY BEHIND THE WORLD’S MOST ADVANCED FIGHTER JETS NUCLEAR LEARN ABOUT… www.howitworksdaily.com ■ THERMITE ■ OZONE LAYER ■ MEDIEVAL CASTLES ISSUE ISSN ONE 2041-7322 £3.99 SUN ■ 3D MOVIES© Imagine■ EJECTOR Publishing SEATS Ltd■ DIGITAL SLRS 0 1 HOW SUNSPOTS AND SOLAR ■No T-REX unauthorised■ SNAKE copying BITES or distribution■ SOUND BARRIER WINDS AFFECT LIFE ON EARTH ■ SPACESUITS ■ GUILLOTINES ■ BRAIN FREEZE 9 7 7 2 0 4 1 7 3 2 0 0 4 001_HIW001.indd 1 ■ THERMITE ■ OZONE LAYER ■ MEDIEVAL CASTLES 8/10/09 18:25:20 ■ 3D MOVIES ■ HYBRID CARS ■ DIGITAL CAMERAS ■ X-RAYS ■ SNAKE BITES ■ SOUND BARRIER ■ SPACESUITS ■ GUILLOTINES ■ BIONIC IMPLANTS © Imagine Publishing Ltd No unauthorised copying or distribution Get in touch Have YOU got a question you want answered by the How It Works website? Get in touch by.. Email: [email protected] ISSUE ONE Web: www.howitworksdaily.co.uk Snail mail: How It Works Imagine Publishing, 33 Richmond Hill WELCOMEThe magazine that feeds minds! Bournemouth, Dorset BH2 6EZ ”FEED YOUR MIND!” Welcome to How It Works, the new The sections explained magazine that explains everything you never knew you ENVIRONMENT The huge amount of info in each The natural world issue of How It Works is organised wanted to know about the world explained into these sections we live in. Loaded with fully illustrated guides and expert SCIENCE Explaining the knowledge, and with sections applications of dedicated to science, technology, science in the contemporary transportation, space, history and world the environment, no subject is too HISTORY big or small for How It Works to explain. Questions So why did we launch a new science and technology answered on how things worked in magazine? Quite simply, because there’s a huge the past audience that want accessible, entertaining and absorbing info-tainment packed with fact and opinion to TECHNOLOGY fuel their imaginations. You only need to look at the The wonders of success of TV programmes like Brainiac: Science Abuse, modern gadgetry and engineering James May’s Big Ideas and Richard Hammond’s explained Engineering Connections to see that science and technology is fi rmly part of mainstream entertainment. TRANSPORT SPACE Entertainment and information is what How It Works Be it road, rail, air or sea From exploration to the you’ll find out about it here solar system to deep space delivers in spades, we aim to answer the most fascinating questions you can think of. How do sharks hunt? What’s a black hole? What’s inside a nuclear Meet the experts submarine? How was the London Underground built? How It Works is put together by a crack team of knowledge-rich experts, here How do iPods work? These are just a few of the questions are some of them who we feel deserve a special mention this issue we’ll be answering in coming issues. Our launch issue tackles such awe-inspiring subjects as the Eurofi ghter, the causes of extreme weather such as tsunamis and hurricanes, the Bugatti Veyron, vision and sight, nuclear subs and the Large Hadron Collider. All written by our experts and all enjoyable to anyone with a hunger for knowledge. So, read, absorb, enjoy and feed your mind. If you enjoy reading it half as much as I enjoyed editing it Phil Dave Tom Shanna John you’ll have got your money’s worth… and then some! Raby Roos Harris Freeman Brandon Eurofighter vs F-22 Extreme weather Return of the LHC Medieval castles Inside the Sun Phil’s area of Dave Roos is a Tom Harris is a writer Shanna Freeman John Brandon is a speciality is cars, freelance writer and from Durham, North holds a BA in freelance writer with especially Porsches, part-time farmer Carolina. He has English and lives articles published in although he who recently contributed to 16 near Atlanta, many major appreciates all forms returned to the general knowledge Georgia. She enjoys computing, science, Dave Harfi eld of engineering and United States after six books and was one of writing about a travel, and music Editor-in-Chief loves to take things to years in Mexico. He the original writers variety of topics, magazines. Since bits. He’s a self- has written for The at HowStuffWorks. including food, starting his writing confessed gadget New York Times, com, where he led science, health, career in 2001, he has junkie and is never Newsweek and other the award-winning history, technology had over 2,500 far from his iPhone. bigshot publications. content team. and pop culture. articles published. Editor’s pick This issue is packed out with great features but my With thanks to favourite article this month has to be the look inside How It Works would like to thank the HMS Astute. If you’ve ever wanted to fi nd out the following companies and what’s beneath the hull of the Royal Navy’s latest organisations for their help in and most deadly nuclear sub, turn to page 48. creating this issue © Imagine Publishing Ltd WWW.HOWITWORKSDAILY.COM | No unauthorised copying or distribution How It Works 03 003_HIW.indd 3 13/10/09 16:55:41 CONTENTSISSUE ONE The magazine that feeds minds! 06Global Eye Astounding news and amazing images from the worlds of science, technology, nature, space and transport 14 Extreme weather Surviving tornadoes to tsunamis Vision and sight Sections 24 How we see in colour Environment 14 Extreme weather Typhoons, tsunamis and how we can survive the big freeze 30 Exploding 18 How do snakes bite? fi reworks 18 The birds… How do they 18 … and the bees! make amazing 18 The formation of diamonds displays? 19 The ozone layer 21 Great white sharks 22 The anatomy of a volcano Breathtaking reminders that the Earth’s surface is still actively evolving Science 24 How vision and sight works An eye-opening look at how we see… 26 Fish gills explained 26 How do boats stay afl oat? 27 Thermite – feel the heat 27 What is ‘brain freeze’? 28 Static electricity – solved 28 Examining x-rays 29 A vital organ – the human heart 30 Understanding fi reworks Bright and festive chemistry experiments 48 32 Immunisation explained Nuclear submarine 32 Why we get drunk On board the HMS Astute 33 Up and atom 33 Understanding electromagnets 64 34 Fixing the Large Hadron Inside the iPhone 3GS Collider An exploded view of the world’s The biggest science experiment in the greatest gadget SUBSCRIBE NOW! world is ready for action Go to pg 82 for some great deals © Imagine Publishing Ltd | WWW.HOWITWORKSDAILY.COM 04 How It Works No unauthorised copying or distribution 004-005_HIW001 final.indd 4 13/10/09 16:57:46 Transport 38 The Eurofi ghter Typhoon Regulars The most advanced fighter plane in the world explained 42 VW’s car vending machine 42 Inside an F1 car Because 44 The Bugatti Veyron enquiring Take a look at the world’s fastest car minds want to know… 46 Ejection seats explained 46 Cat’s eye refl ectors 84 Expert 46 A look at ceramic brakes answers 47 What is the sound barrier? Experts from the National Science Museum answer 48 On board the HMS Astute readers’ questions Inside the world’s deadliest nuclear sub Doug Millard Senior Curator of Space Technology Space Read Doug’s answers to all your questions 54 On the surface of the Sun on space Under the surface of our nearest star lies a natural nuclear reactor Rob Skitmore Assistant Curator of 56 Radio telescopes explained Technology 56 What are Saturn’s rings? Rob tackles all questions related to 38 56 Van Allen radiation belt technology Eurofi ghter 57 SpaceShipTwo Typhoon Rik Sargent How does it 58 Gravity Science Museum Explainer compare to the How gravity binds the universe together Rik-of-all-trades F-22 Raptor? answers a wide 60 How adaptive optics work variety of questions 60 Following tides 61 Inside a space suit 62 Dextre the space robot Technology For connoisseurs of kit and savants of stuff 74 64 iPhone 3GS exploded 3D movies What’s inside the latest iPhone 88 The latest How do they 66 Bionic eye implants reviews work? 66 Eco-friendly light bulbs Gadgets, games, movies, toys 67 The AIM-9 Sidewinder and days-out. For connoisseurs 68 How widgets create frothy beer of kit and savants of stuff 68 Understanding radars 54 68 Keyless ignition 68 Digital sound Inside our Sun Take a look under 69 How do Geiger Counters work? the surface of 69 Inside a PC fi rewall our closest star 70 GPS and satnav How your satnav navigates you from a to b and back again 72 How night vision goggles work 72 DVD burning explained 73 Anatomy of a digital camera 74 How do 3D movies work? Life-like movies use an optical trick 94 How It Works for 3D effects – Inbox Communications and opinions History from our esteemed readership 76 Inside medieval castles 96 How to An anatomy of Krak des Chevaliers, a make: formidable medieval fortress The perfect paper plane 78 How guillotines worked 78 Egyptian mummifi cation 79 T-Rex – a true predator? 79 How the Flintlock Pistol worked 80 Heraldry explained SUBSCRIBE NOW! What did the signs and symbols of Go to pg 82 for some great deals heraldry mean? © Imagine Publishing Ltd WWW.HOWITWORKSDAILY.COM | No unauthorised copying or distribution How It Works 05 004-005_HIW001 final.indd 5 13/10/09 17:01:12 EYENEWS A fresh look at the world iCub: The robot child This creepy looking robot kid might learn to speak quicker than your own his is iCub, a small humanoid robot about the same size as a Tthree-and-a-half-year-old child that might enable a new insight into human cognitive behaviour.