Popular Mechanics South Africa Magazine - January/February 2023
Popular Mechanics South Africa Magazine - January/February 2023
Go Unlimited with Magzter GOLD
Read Popular Mechanics South Africa along with 8,500+ other magazines & newspapers with just one subscription View catalog
1 Month $9.99
1 Year$99.99 $49.99
$4/month
Subscribe only to Popular Mechanics South Africa
Buy this issue $2.99
Subscription plans are currently unavailable for this magazine. If you are a Magzter GOLD user, you can read all the back issues with your subscription. If you are not a Magzter GOLD user, you can purchase the back issues and read them.
In this issue
Popular Mechanics January/February 2023
Can a retired rocket engine take us to Mars?
The space shuttle's main engine was mothballed with the programme in 2011. Now NASA believes it's the future of interplanetary travel.
9 mins
6 metre waves. All engines on fire. 1 500 Km from land.
How Flying Tiger 923 and its 'miracle pilot' made an impossible ocean landing.
10 mins
Land Rover Discovery D300
A FEW MONTHS ago a $2 billion lottery jackpot was won in the United States. It’s fun to sometimes ponder outrageous winnings like that, and how I’d spend it, even if it’s completely detached from reality.
3 mins
Volkswagen Taigo R-Line 1.0 TSI
The compact proportions make this a delightful daily commuter.
2 mins
Mazda CX-5 2.2 L De Akera AWD
Floor the pedal and overtaking is achieved easily and safely.
1 min
Making the most out of your grinder
THE HUMBLE BENCH GRINDER IS A STAPLE of the handyworker's home shop, largely due to its versatility. But, while you can employ one to remove metal from just about anything, the traditional kind may not provide the precision you need for every grinding operation. Here, we shed light on the best ways to use the different types of grinders, gleaned from our testing.
4 mins
Unlock your devices' full potential with a USB-C hub
AS NEW TECH SHRINKS EACH YEAR, essential ports such as USB-A, HDMI, and ethernet are being replaced by the slimmer USB-C.
5 mins
WE BUILT THE WORLD'S FIRST V-8 TESLA
THE RICH REBUILDS TEAM HAD A DEAD MODEL S. THEY FIXED IT WITH A CAMARO ENGINE.
9 mins
I bought a GHOST TOWN
This abandoned California mining village once had 400 buildings. Now I'm restoring the 20 that remain.
8 mins
F1 taught me that speed starts with comfort
AS A FAN OF MOTORSPORT, I'M ALWAYS fascinated with the finer details that go into Formula One racing. Piloting the fastest racing cars on the planet subjects drivers to savage forces - up to 6 G's under braking which has led to an almost endless pursuit of comfort.
2 mins
How do you build the world's largest magnet? It's complicated
THE SUPERCONDUCTING E ELECTROMAGNET IS THE 'BEATING HEART' OF THE ITER TOKAMAK- A MAGNETIC CONFINEMENT DEVICE THAT PRODUCES CONTROLLED THERMONUCLEAR FUSION POWER.
4 mins
What happens when two black holes collide?
FOR THE FIRST TIME, WE'VE OBSERVED A 50-YEAR-OLD theorem from Stephen Hawking in the natural world. Scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), California Institute of Technology, Cornell University, and Stony Brook University analysed the gravitational wave data of two inspiralling black holes. What they found in the collision proved Hawking's Area Theorem: The area of a black hole's event horizon cannot shrink.
3 mins
The key to finding this 'impossible' material might be a nuclear explosion
A DECADES-LONG QUEST TO FIND A quasicrystals - a crystal-like material with a seemingly impossible structure - has led researchers to an unlikely location: the site of the Trinity test, the first atomic bomb blast.
3 mins
Did the US lose a crucial testing ground when it left Afghanistan?
THE ADVANTAGES OF UAVS ARE RENDERED USELESS IN THE CONTEXT OF AN ENEMY THAT CAN CUT THE LINK BETWEEN OPERATOR AND AIRCRAFT.
3 mins
Quantum cyberattacks are coming.This maths can stop them
ENCRYPTION – THE PROCESS OF SENDING A scrambled message that only the intended recipient’s device can decode – allows private and public sectors alike to safeguard information.
3 mins
Tidal floods are coming to more cities, thanks to the Moon's wobble
FLOODING DAYS ALMOST TRIPLE AS SEA LEVELS AND TIDE AMPLIFICATION FROM THE MOON CROSS A TIPPING POINT.
3 mins
The world's smallest implantable chip might save your life one day
SCIENTISTS AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY have created the world’s smallest microchip, which can be implanted into the body and may eventually be able to detect medical conditions such as strokes. The chips, called motes, are the size of dust mites, measuring less than 0.1 cubic millimetre, and can only be seen under a microscope.
2 mins
Bionic augmentation...Humanity's next big leap?
Prosthetics can enhance human abilities, instead of - through medical necessity - merely matching them. From exoskeletons to artificial organs, and Elon Musk's Neuralink brain computing lab, a future is fast approaching where able-bodied humans will be prosthetically enhanced.
7 mins
Drill Master
For cordless versatility, the Slammer Hammer from WORX is a powerhouse drill for all occasions.
3 mins
Volkswagen Polo GTI 2.0 TSI 147 kW
Opinions on cars we've driven
2 mins
The $20 million bioengineering gambit to Save the Northern White Rhino
We have the science and technology to bring animals back from extinction. But should we use it?
10+ mins
Researchers say they’ve finally sequenced the entire human genome. Yes, all of it
GENETICS
4 mins
The radioactive diamond battery that will run for 28 000 years
MACHINES
4 mins
The Pentagon wants to launch a nuclear thermal rocket in 4 years
MILITARY TECH
4 mins
Maths could've saved Texas's power grid in 2021
DEEP MATHEMATICS
3 mins
How to safely enter a black hole
Supermassive black holes are ideal for visiting, but 1 in 1 000, as illustrated, have dangerous accretion discs and blast jets of particles at near light speed.
4 mins
The age of mammals
The Rise and Reign of the Mammals is a book that tells us not only about the past, but about our future as a species too.
2 mins
Elizabeth Ann is the first clone of a US endangered species. She was 33 years in the making
For the first time, scientists have created a clone of an endangered US species - a black-footed ferret named Elizabeth Ann. The researchers used cells from a donor that had been dead for more than 30 years, and the procedure's success could mean not only rescue for one of North America's most endangered mammals, but a watershed moment in conservation biology.
4 mins
How 'bout them apples?
South Africa is known for its delicious fruit, but have you ever thought about what goes into getting those crisp, sweet apples from the orchards to our supermarkets? PM toured the Ceres Fruit Growers facility in Ceres to get the low-down.
7 mins
Long-Tongued Flies: Bold Pollinators of Namaqualand
The recent discovery of a new fly species deepens our understanding of what it’ll take to conserve a bevy of endemic long tubed flower species in Namaqualand. But still, there are far more questions than answers.
4 mins
Popular Mechanics South Africa Magazine Description:
Publisher: Ramsay /Highbury Media
Category: Automotive
Language: English
Frequency: Bi-Monthly
The acknowledged voice of science and technology in South Africa
The South African edition of Popular Mechanics was launched in 2002 and has fast become the acknowledged voice of science and technology in South Africa. Underpinning its rich sci-tech content is an ever-changing mix of articles covering everything from automotive news and outdoor adventures to DIY projects. In essence, it explains how our world works.
- Cancel Anytime [ No Commitments ]
- Digital Only