Cutting the Cord

THE HANDHELD CIRCULAR SAW IS PERHAPS THE MOST VERSAtile power tool for cutting wood.

BUILDING COLLAPSES IN U.S. HISTORY

THE CASCADING FAILURES BEHIND ONE OF THE WORST

How Three Amateurs Solved the Zodiac Killer's '340' Cipher

The mysterious code stumped the FBI and NSA for 53 years. What does the key, and the resulting solution, tell us about the infamous murderer?

POPULAR MECHANICS TOP AWARDS 2024

For more than 120 years, Popular Mechanics has been a heavy-duty brand. We see no reason to change that now.

How This Particle Could Break Our Understanding of Reality

EINSTEIN'S SPECIAL THEORY OF relativity teaches us that nothing can accelerate past the speed of light. But what if, when you were born, you were already moving faster than light? What would that look like?

The Right Way to Use a Fire Extinguisher

A FIRE EXTINGUISHER IS MORE THAN A of one 5-gallon bucket becomes the size of 64 burning buckets. Just 180 seconds after it begins, a fire can be transformed from a nuisance to a room-size, life-threatening inferno.

How the World's Largest Spherical Structure Was Built

THE SHINY, NEW LAS VEGAS SPHERE IS more than just a 17,600-seat amphitheaterstyle venue hosting a U2 residency. Since its opening in September 2023, it's become the world's largest spherical structure, at 516 feet wide and 366 feet tall.

The Army's Drone-Killing Laser Weapon

THE U.S. ARMY FIELDED ITS FIRST LASERweapon-equipped unit in October. Based at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, the unit took possession of four laser-equipped Stryker infantry combat vehicles, each mounting a 50-kilowatt-class laser-weapon system. The combination of Stryker and laser can down both artillery, such as mortars and rockets, and drones in-flight.

Why It's So Hard to Mine the World's Largest Lithium Deposit

A Pass, or Peehee Mu'huh to the local Paiute people has been mined since the 1970s, so the new analysis merely confirms what locals have long known about the area.

WHAT THE WORLD'S MOST POWERFUL X-RAY LASER WILL DO FOR SCIENCE

DEEP UNDER MENLO PARK, California, there is a threemile-long machine operating in a tunnel that scientists are keeping colder than even some of the deepest reaches of space.

Giving New Life to a Vintage Toolbox

Rust stripper plus spray paint overhaul a box that launched a business.

Why IQ Tests Are Bad Math

Some experts who study intelligence quotient (IQ) tests say these models are mathematically imperfect and can even lead to race and class discrimination.

The Ways to Travel the Multiverse

For nearly 100 years, physicists have been trying to reconcile the physics of the smallest building blocks of the universe (quantum physics) with the physics of the galactically large (Einstein's theory of general relativity)

The Perfect Whiskey-toWater Ratio

NEAT OR ON THE ROCKS? OR MAYBE just a touch of water? It's a question long debated by whiskey lovers and one largely left to personal preference until now.

How to Break in Leather Boots

WHEN PERFECTLY SHAPED TO your foot, a well-worn leather boot can skyrocket to the top of your most comfortable boot list. Now, a leather boot that has not been properly broken in that's a different story, and one without as comfortable an ending.

The First Roads We'll Build on the Moon

PLANS FOR A FUTURE LUNAR MINING base and the 2025 Artemis III landing on the moon are about to launch a new era of human presence on the moon.

The Safest Table Saw Tech Comes to Home Workshops

Big Important Product

POWER STATIONS

For some folks, the advantages of portable power stations make them an ideal choice.

The Silver Bridge Was a Marvel of Engineering - THEN IT CAME CRASHING DOWN.

How a risky design, cost-cutting, and strange supernatural warnings changed a small town forever

Gadget AWARD'S

Life's good, but having the right tools can make it a hell of a lot better. The tech on the following pages can make knocking out work, gaming with friends, and controlling your home easier. Our editors spent the past year testing dozens of electronics ranging from smartphones to televisions. They used a mix of software benchmarks (where applicable), measurements, and extensive hands-on evaluation to find the devices that offer the most value and best performance-all to identify quality products best poised to serve you for years to come.

CAPTAIN AI

IN 2022, A VESSEL WITH NO HUMANS ABOARD SET SAIL ACROSS THE ATLANTIC. WOULD ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE .BE ENOUGH TO KEEP IT AFLOAT?

Can AI Really Teach a Novice Wood-worker How to Complete Their First Project?

What began as a "simple" thought experiment quickly morphed into a complicated and potentially dangerous hands-on experience in the real world of woodworking

A Living History of the Humble Paper Airplane

For centuries, paper airplanes have unlocked the science of flight—now they could inspire drone designs

Build Our Propane-Fired DIY Pizza Oven

We did it-here's how you can, too.

If We Can Eradicate Zombie Cells

AS WE AGE, OUR BODIES FILL UP WITH a type of dysfunctional cell that permanently stops dividing, called a \"senescent cell.\"

Our Model of Human Color Perception Being Wrong

ON A FLIGHT FROM NEW YORK CITY TO Berlin, the route map might look a little curious: The shortest path between these two cities is surely a straight line, and yet the flight path curves distinctly

The Pentagon's Hypersonic Rocket Engine

HYPERSONIC ENGINES COME IN ALL shapes and sizes-some are even 3Dprinted

How Ukraine's "Secret Weapon" Shrugs Off Russian Radio Interference

SINCE THE START OF ITS WAR WITH Ukraine, Russia claims to have taken out 90 percent of Kyiv's drones with radio jamming

Brava's Glass Smart Oven Cooks at the Speed of Light

SMART OVENS USE A MIX OF SENSORS AND SOFTS ware to cook food to your liking

There Has Never Been a Better Time to Buy a SMART GRILL

THE CHOICE USED TO BE BETWEEN CHARCOAL AND PROPANE flavor or easy