Home/Science/How It Works/No. 130
Welcome to How It Works, the magazine that explains everything you never knew you wanted to know about the world we live in. Loaded with fully illustrated guides and expert knowledge, and with sections dedicated to science, technology, transportation, space, history and the environment, no subject is too big or small for How It Works to explain.
Read on Any Device
Switch between PDF & Text Mode
Bookmark & Search Content
Read Offline
Receive New Issue Notifications
Cancel Anytime
in this issue
IN THIS ISSUEWELCOME“Planes before this felt like an old movie. Now, it is like living in a Star Wars reality”This issue we’ve been lucky enough to have been taken around a huge factory in Texas: one that builds F-35 fighter jets. These advanced air-combat vehicles are popped out by the dozen in Lockheed Martin’s impressive, hi-tech, and high-security Fort Worth facility. But you can find out exactly how they’re made, step by step, on page 22. Also, some of our pages in this 10th anniversary issue of How It Works are augmented reality-enabled. Just download the app from page 4, follow the instructions and keep an eye out for the AR logo in each feature. Enjoy!For exclusive HIW news and offers, sign up to our mailing listhowitworksdaily. com/newsletterFOLLOW US…How It Works magazine@HowItWorksmag…1 min
IN THIS ISSUEMeet the team…JamesProduction EditorIs it really possible to build a colossal lift that will take us from the Earth’s surface into geostationary orbit in space? Find out on page 80.ScottStaff WriterDiscover how some symbiotic relationships in the animal kingdom aren’t as mutually beneficial as they seem on page 64.BaljeetResearch EditorDiscover how incredibly versatile the element carbon is and how it holds the key to almost all life on Earth on page 34.JonArt EditorAs one of the most tragic maritime disasters, find out how the ‘unsinkable’ Titanic ended up at the bottom of the ocean on page 42.AilsaStaff WriterToday, photography provides us with instant images, but this wasn’t always the case. Check out the first instant camera on page 54.…1 min
REGULARSSoap bubbles splitting lightThese are soap bubbles, clinging together to form an irregular cellular structure. Bubbles normally minimise their surface area for the volume of air they contain, creating a spherical shape. The iridescent surface sheen is where white light is refracted and split into bands of colour. The clear spots are too thin to refract, indicating the bubble is about to burst. This image was taken by Kym Cox for The Royal Photographic Society’s Science Photographer of the Year competition. Find out about the competition at rps.org/spoty.…1 min
REGULARSSeeing into the galactic centreThis galaxy, designated NGC 3169 and photographed by the Hubble Space Telescope in July 2019, is around 70 million light years from us, and is a spiral galaxy. The galactic nucleus is mostly obscured by cosmic dust, but Hubble has managed to take a shot that allows us to see the centre, which is a source of ‘hard’ x-rays. Cosmic dust is made of ice, hydrocarbons and other materials. It is left over from the enormous amount of star and planet formation that has happened in this galaxy in the last billion years.…1 min
REGULARSFireworks Galaxy flare-up baffles scientistsDon't be alarmed, but the Fireworks Galaxy is exploding. Admittedly, it's been exploding for a while – at least since 1917 (give or take the 25 million years that light takes to travel from that galaxy to Earth), when astronomers first glimpsed a large star erupting into a supernova there. Since then, scientists have detected nearly a dozen stellar explosions in the galaxy, but none quite like a mysterious green blotch of x-ray light recently observed.What makes that blotch special? For starters, it's not a supernova. The x-ray signature detected by NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) is far more energetic than a typical supernova. But more importantly, the energetic x-ray blast also appeared and disappeared from the galaxy in about ten days – a briefer appearance than a supernova,…3 min
REGULARS'Chemical exposure’ linked to mysterious vaping diseaseThe number of Americans struck with mysterious, vaping-related lung illnesses is rising. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has announced that it is aware of 450 possible cases of severe lung illnesses linked to vaping that are under investigation in 33 US states. Three deaths have been confirmed in connection with these illnesses. Many of the patients are teens or young adults. All patients reported using e-cigarettes, and many used the devices to vape marijuana.So far, the cause of the illnesses is unknown; no single vaping device, product or substance has been tied to all of the cases, said Dr Dana Meaney-Delman, the manager of the CDC's investigation. Officials believe "chemical exposure" is likely to be behind these illnesses, but much more information is needed, Meaney-Delman said.The CDC…2 min
special issues
- How It Works - How It Works: Inside The Human Body - 12th. EditionHow It Works: Inside The Human Body - 12th. Edition
recent issues
View All
- How It Works - Issue 193Issue 193
- How It Works - Issue 192Issue 192
- How It Works - Issue 191Issue 191
- How It Works - Issue 190Issue 190
- How It Works - Issue 189Issue 189
- How It Works - Issue 188Issue 188
- How It Works - Issue 187Issue 187
- How It Works - Issue 186Issue 186
- How It Works - Issue 185Issue 185
- How It Works - Issue 184Issue 184
