Popular Mechanics articles from August 2008

Popular Mechanics archives from August 2008

Dream liner.(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] It was great to read your story about the SS United States ("Can This Ship Be Saved?"). I sailed on the United States from New York to Europe and back in summer 1960 as a 13-year-old boy. On the return from England,...

Disaster at sea.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2008... Your article on the sinking of the Queen of the North near HaRley Bay, British Columbia, really got my attention ("Coastal Ferry Tragedy"). I live in Kitimat, just up the Douglas channel from the location where she sank. With all of the stories...

On the road.(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2008... Your article "Home on the Road," about living in convetted buses, included women who immediately took to that lifestyle--but that wasn't my case. When my husband announced he wanted to "chuck it all" and travel the country, I protested. But...

Corrections.(LETTERS)(Correction notice)
August 1, 2008... "Matchups of the New Cold War" (July '08) should have stated that the Venezuelan government mobilized its military after Colombian forces killed a member of FARC in Ecuador. "Middleweight Cruisers" (July '08) should have stated the...

Boiling-hot record machine: blending the past and future, a steam-powered car vies for a speed record.(TECH WATCH: NEWS + TRENDS + BREAKTHROUGHS)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] It's the ultimate steampunk fantasy: A sleek racing machine, powered by Victorian-era propulsion technology, roars across the Utah desert fast enough to capture a land speed record. This month, the British Steam Car...

Beachhead brawler.(TECH WATCH)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The U.S. Navy uses colors to describe where a ship is built to operate: Brown for rivers, blue for oceans and, recently, green for coastal, or littoral, waters. The Navy, traditionally focused on dominating oceans,...

Filters worth copying.(TECH WATCH)(water filters)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Call it a new market niche: Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center has applied its toner know-how to the task of creating a better water filter. Staff there saw the impurities that make water undrinkable behave a lot like...

Lightsabers for dentists.(TECH WATCH)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Trips to the dentist could become less frightening, courtesy of researchers at China's HuaZhong University of Science and Technology. They've created a jet of cold plasma by charging helium, oxygen and nitrogen electrons with pulses of...

Pressure to change mortuary science.(TECH WATCH)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Dissolving bodies in lye is not just for mafia hit men anymore, now that an Indiana company is touting alkaline hydrolysis to dispose of cadavers. A body is placed in a stainless-steel container and exposed to lye,...

Orbital laser grams.(TECH WATCH)(TerraSAR-X)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... The German TerraSAR-X satellite recently exchanged laser volleys with a U.S. Missile Defense Agency satellite. It was the first demonstration of the use of lasers for intersatellite communication. The beams covered more than 3000 miles with no...

The hard way back to earth: two mishaps sow doubt about the safety of the earth's most reliable spacecraft.(TECH WATCH)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] South Korean astronaut Yi So-yeon gave this grim review of her April 2008 ride to Earth in a Russian-made Soyuz spacecraft: "I was really scared because it looked really, really hot, and I thought we could burn."...

Time machine: July 1949.(TECH WATCH)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Aviation pioneers tend to seek ever-higher altitudes to find new engineering challenges. Case in point: Stanley Hiller Jr. After forming one of the U.S.'s first helicopter companies, he turned to manned rockets. As...

Namatode nation: tiny worms reveal large secrets.(TECH WATCH)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Researchers this year announced they had invented a microscopic operating table for tiny, unsegmented roundworms called nematodes. The question is: Why? What could researchers learn from creatures that can be as...

Saul Griffith: a materials scientist, mechanical engineer and accomplished inventor, PM editorial adviser Saul Griffith makes his case for better design and a renewed "repair culture.".(TECH WATCH)(Popular Mechanics)(Interview)
August 1, 2008... Q Disposable products increase your carbon footprint. Why is that? A It takes energy to make any material. If it's plastic it takes energy to pull oil out of the ground; if it's aluminum it takes energy to mine bauxite. Then those materials...

Whose machine reigns supreme? Militarized robots face off in contests around the world.(TECH WATCH)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] It could be a rule of modern urban warfare: Send the robot in first. After all, it's better to risk an unmanned air or ground vehicle than an infantry squad. While the United States has already deployed thousands of...

Robotic digestion.(In Other Robot NEWS ...)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Researchers in Bristol, England, have created a robot that can run on raw organic energy sources for power. The team's Ecobot II uses unrefined waste, such as dead flies or fruit, to produce power in a microbial fuel cell. The next step: robots...

A fast bot finds work.(In Other Robot News ...)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Quattro (right) has the fastest hands in robotdom. But in the industrial world, sales count more than time trials--and Quattro is a hit: Hundreds of the precise four-armed robots have been sold to Japanese packaging firms, European solarpanel...

Hum to your battle droid.(In Other Robot News ...)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Voice-activated control is seen as the future of human-to-robot communication. However, ambient noise can interfere, so researchers are already seeking something better. This year Think-A-Move was awarded a $600,000 U.S. Army contract to...

Flight of fancy: a California startup builds the ultimate joyride for weekend fliers.(TECH WATCH)(Icon A-5)(Product/service evaluation)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ICON A5 SPECIFICATIONS (To be verified during flight testing.) Estimated Price: $140,000 Wingspan: 34 ft. Aircraft Length: 22 ft. Maximum Speed: 120 mph Range: 300 nautical miles ...

Rotary club.(UPGRADE: GEAR + TOOLS + TOYS)(Bosch 11250VSRD Dust-Collection Rotary Hammer)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Concrete may feel solid, but grind it or Pound it and it reveals itself to be little more than a wall of powder, Dusty, messy Powder. The Bosch 11250VSRD Dust-Collection Rotary Hemmer ($260, boschtools.com) uses its...

Peter J. Jensen nixie tube clock.(WISH LIST: PM UPGRADE)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Atomic clocks may promise pinpoint precision, but no modern timepiece quite captures the sci-fi chic of nixie tubes--essentially mini neon lights. Unfortunately, the displays, which were popular in the '50s and '60s,...

Foam finisher.(WISH LIST: PM UPGRADE)(Gator Zip Sander)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] PM EDITOR'S CHOICE AWARD Most hand sanders are as ergonomic as a brick. Palm the top of the Gator Zip Sander ($I0) and it molds to the shape of your hand, allowing for a comfortable grip at any angle. But its big...

Thin screen.(WISH LIST: PM UPGRADE)(Hitachi UltraThin 1.5 Series LCD TV)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... The Hitachi UltraThin 1.5 Series LCD TV ($1800 to $4700) takes its cue from the MacBook Air. Like the Lilliputian laptop, this 1080p, 120-Hz set is superthin (at 1.5 in., it's currently the thinnest LCD TV). As in the Air, svelteness comes at...

Air lock.(WISH LIST: PM UPGRADE)(Oxo Good Grips Pop Containers)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Press the lid-based buttons on the Oxo Good Grips Pop Containers ($7 to $17) and the stackable bins instantly create airtight seals--the mechanism forces a gasket outward, sealing it against the container's inner...

Water guns: mutually assured saturation.(Abusive Lab test: WISH LIST: PM UPGRADE)(Product/service evaluation)
August 1, 2008... Abusive Lab Test WATER GUNS [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In the water gun arms race, Super Soaker was always the high-tech bruiser with powerful air compression technology and a Raytheon-like reputation to match. Its guns are still...

Folding Kayak.(Test Drive: WISH LIST: PM UPGRADE)(Folbot Citibot)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Water-loving urbanites are the primary audience for the Folbot Citibot ($1094), a 10-ft., 24-pound kayak that folds up small enough to sit in a tight hallway closet or a VW Jetta trunk. Assembling any folding boat is...

Downgrade.(WISH LIST: PM UPGRADE)(Nubrella)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] For every commonplace product, inventors see a modern-age flaw. Example: It's tough to send text messages while holding an umbrella. The solution: Nubrella ($50), a hands-free rain shield that straps onto your...

Roaming hotspot.(WISH LIST: PM UPGRADE)(CradlePoint CTR500 Cellular Travel Router)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Until next-gen wireless technology comes out, we're stuck with Wi-Fi. It's fast, but stray too far from a hotspot and your signal bars disappear. The CradlePoint CTR500 Cellular Travel Router ($180) allows anyone to...

Clarke crocodile circular saw ($100).(WISH LIST: PM UPGRADE)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Sure, a circular saw with the right blade can slice metal, but it's still essentially a wood-cutting tool being pushed to its limits. The Clarke Crocodile Circular Saw ($100) is a handheld cutter designed to slice through metal, marble and just...

Is it really worth it? The $700 social-networking shoe.(WISH LIST: PM UPGRADE)(VectraSense Verb For Shoe)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] What does spending $700 on shoes created by an MIT spinoff get you? Something of a cross between a Reebok Pump and Microsoft Zune. As the user moves, the cushions on the VectraSense Verb For Shoe ($700) automatically...

The king is back: The KR is the most powerful and most expensive Mustang ever. And with only 1751 available--one of the rarest, too.(NEW CARS: MUSCLE CAR + SPORTBIKE CROSSOVER + SUPERCAR)(Shelby GT500KR )(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ++ PM DRIVEN 2008 SHELBY GT500KR Base Price: $79,995 It's been 40 years since the first Shelby GT500KR (King of the Road) Mustang hit the streets. This 21st-century edition delivers a staggering 540 hp and 510...

Primal screamer 2009 Lamborghini LP 560-4.(TEST DRIVES: PM NEW CARS)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Lamborghini's baby supercar has grown up. Yes, with a top speed of 202 mph, the $201,000 Gallardo LP 560-4 is closing in on its big brother Murcielago. The new 5.2-liter V10 helps the Lambo sprint to 62 mph in 3.7...

Lasting impressions: 2008 Porsche 911 carrera.(TEST DRIVES: PM NEW CARS)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] From its simple round headlights to those sensuous hips, Porsche's 997-generation 911 (2005 to the present) has been one of our favorites. With an all-new 911 due for 2009, we took the last of this breed out for a...

Sporty soul: 2009 VW Tiguan.(TEST DRIVES: PM NEW CARS)(Product/service evaluation)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] VW is finally filling its small crossover void. Think of the $23,890 Tiguan as a beefed-up Golf. And with a 200-hp 2.0-liter turbocharged Four from the GTI, the Tiguan's soul leans more toward performance than...

Economy plus: 2008 Chevy Malibu LTZ.(TEST DRIVES: PM NEW CARS)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] When it comes to moving five passengers in comfort, you don't necessarily have to jump into a subcompact to get respectable fuel economy. We grabbed the keys to a Malibu LTZ four-cylinder, six-speed automatic to find...

Throttle jockey: 2008 Suzuki GSX-R600.(TEST DRIVES: PM NEW CARS)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Suzuki's GSX-R600 is the best-selling sportbike in America. To maintain momentum, the '08 has enhanced torque and a slew of subtle improvements. Suzuki's Drive Mode Selector offers three tiers (A, B and C) of engine...

Easy passing: 2009 Nissan Maxima.(TEST DRIVES: PM NEW CARS)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... PM TEST DRIVEN [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Is the four-door sports car back? Well, according to Nissan, it is. The '09 Maxima has the right formula, on paper. It's 3.8 in. shorter and 1.5 in. wider than its predecessor, with more power and...

Top ten auto X prize teams.(RACE TO 100 MPG: PM NEW CARS)(Progressive Automotive X Prize)
August 1, 2008... PM has been following the $10 million Progressive Automotive X Prize (PAXP) competition since its inception in 2006. The goal of the prize? Design a mass-market 100-mpg-equivalent vehicle, and prove a business case to build at least 10,000 of...

Long-term test cars: Mitsubishi's Evo Mr Road rocket joins our fleet--and not a moment too soon.(PM TEST DRIVEN)(Product/service evaluation)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution MR + FIRST REPORT Since the long-term Infiniti G35 left our fleet a few months ago, we've been without a sport sedan. And to be honest, we've been a bit bored. Jeeps and Hyundai...

Vaccine denial: measles and other diseases are back--so why aren't all parents vaccinating their kids?(THINKING AHEAD)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Progress is easy to take for granted. When I was a child in the '60s, polio was history, measles was on the way out, and diphtheria and whooping cough were maladies out of old movies. Now these contagious diseases...

Taking the scream test: is there a way to predict courage--or cowardice--in the face of danger? A new science of stress may be close to answering the age-old question.(I'LL TRY ANYTHING)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Man, I wish I were anyplace but here. It's 8 am on a clear, cool morning at a quiet airstrip in eastern Long Island, N.Y. The trees lining the runway are sharp as jewels against the crisp blue sky. Duncan Shaw,...

Unrestricted aerospace: a remote desert airfield grants aviation's iconoclasts the headroom to make history.(Cover story)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] TWO TECHNICIANS IN COVERALLS stoop to push a gleaming white plane through open hangar doors into the bright sunshine of southern California's Mojave Desert. The tailless aircraft is about 18 ft. long with a rounded...

Olympic science: why is Michael Phelps the ultimate athlete? How does Nastia Liukin pull off those incredible uneven-bar dismounts? We examine the physics and physiology behind the games.(THE ANATOMY OF SPORTS)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Nurturing Nature: The Perfect Athlete Much has been written about the superhuman athletic ability of swimmer Michael Phelps, winner of six gold medals at the 2004 Athens games. He's a genetic phenom, built like a...

DIY rally: the ultimate dream-it-and-make-it contest is back. Our 10 winners are pure PM: skilled, inspired--and a little bit obsessed.(do it yourself)(Popular Mechanics)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] When we asked readers to submit their coolest, craziest, most all-consuming DIY projects, we knew we'd see some off-the-chart innovation. After all, when it comes to welding/building/modding/ wiring brainstorms into...

Fixing the world on $2 a day: how MIT visionary Amy Smith is inspiring tomorrow's engineers to fight global poverty--one lowtech solutions at a time.(Biography)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] THE PERUVIAN VILLAGE OF COMPONE LIES 11,000 ft. above sea level in El Valle Sagrado de los Incas, the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Flat but ringed by mountains, the tallest capped yearround in snow and ice, the...

Sugar mill explosion: how a massive refinery was savaged by a half-millimeter threat--combustible sugar dust that collected in confined spaces.(What Went wrong)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] HOW IT HAPPENED 7:10 pm A small dust explosion in the packaging warehouse, where conveyors bring sugar into the building from storage silos, shakes dust into the air. 7:15 pm When the airborne dust ignites,...

School of rock: using new technology, we faced off against a farm field boulder--and won.(DIY HOME: GATELEG TABLE + PAINTING TIPS + CFL HASSLES EXPLAINED)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] It was clear that the rock had to go. How it came to its stubborn rest in the meadow mattered less than how we'd move it. The big brute could have been deposited by a glacier, or some previous century's farm boys may...

Gatekeeper: a small table with a folding leaf that's the perfect place to toss your car keys or the day's mail.(Classics: Simple Do-It-Yourself Projects)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Finding just a bit more table space in a hallway or living room, only when you need it, isn't easy. A classic solution is the drop-leaf table, a 16th-century design still useful today because it's so efficient. Lift...

The ultimate paint job.(Homeowners Clinic: Q + A)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Q I'm getting ready to paint my house, again, and this time I want to do it right. I'm striving for that crisp, clean look, and I want it to last. A neighbor had his house done and five years later it still looks...

Full stop: in terms of safety and speed, the power to slow your vehicle is often more important than the power to make it move.(DIY AUTO: BRAKES + ALTERNATORS PINCH WELDS)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Whoa, Nellie. We're driving some seriously fast cars nowadays. The grip we get out of modern tires is astonishing. And the brakes need to keep up. But sometimes folks like to hotrod the engines, upgrade the tires and...

Buzzed.(Car Clinic: Q + A)(buzzing sound coming from the speaker system)
August 1, 2008... Q Recently, I used a battery charger/booster tojumpstart my car. I hadjust installed a new battery and one of the battery terminals was left with a poor connection, probably because I didn't tighten it enough. The next day my car would not stag...

Why do they make it so complicated?(DIY AUTO: BRAKES + ALTERNATORS PINCH WELDS)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Please explain the difference in the fuel rating systems RON and AKI. Actually, there are three antiknock indexes. Gasoline engines can be prone to igniting the air/fuel mixture prematurely, whether it's from too much ignition advance, too...

No more jacking around: don't damage your undercarriage when lifting your car up to work underneath it.(CAR CARE TIP)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Standard operating procedure for lifting up most cars today calls for placing the jack under designated jack points near each wheel. And that's fine if you're using the el cheapo scissors jack they threw in the trunk...

Build your own speakers forget those mass-produced stereos--the road to top quality sound begins in your own workshop.(DIY TECH: REGIONAL DVDS + NINTENDO WiiS + ANTIQUATED iPOD DOCKS)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] It was back in 1924 that a couple of researchers from General Electric, Chester Rice and Edward Kellogg, patented what remains the basic design for virtually all the world's loudspeakers. In the 84 years since,...

Regional conflicts.(Digital Clinic: Q+A)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Q I have a large collection of imported DVDs. However, my laptop DVD player only allows me to switch "regions" a fixed number of times. Is there any way around this? A Most commercial DVDs use encryption that...

Reading multiple layers.(Digital Clinic: Q+A)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... I recently purchased Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Nintendo Wii. But when I insert the disc, I get a system error. What is going on here? Super Smash Bros. Brawl is the first Wii game to arrive on a dual-layered DVD. It is a massive game,...

Popping caps.(Digital Clinic: Q+A)(cap of USB drive)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... I lost the top cap to my USB thumb drive. Do I need one? Not really. Dozens of USB drives have been floating around my drawers for years without caps, and if they've suffered any damage, I haven't noticed it. The fact is, USB connectors are...

Abandoned dock.(Digital Clinic: Q+A)(compatibility of docks to newer mp3 players)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... A few years ago, I purchased a dock to play videos on my TV directly from my iPod. However, it won't work with my new iPod Classic. What gives? The latest iPods (including iPhones) will only hook up to a TV through accessories that feature...

P2PTV.(Digital Clinic: Q+A)(peer to peer television)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... (video streams by way of V2P tech) For most people, P2P (peer-to-peer) software brings to mind the file trading that has drawn the ire of the music industry. But legitimate Internet TV services like Joost and Vudu are now beginning to tap into...

This is my job: inventor.(Mario Salazar)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] MARIO SALAZAR AGE: 44 YEARS ON JOB: 8 Mario Salazar has built everything from hearing aids to space shuttle hardware. But when he decided to create a line of furniture, he couldn't find a tool that...