Popular Mechanics articles from January 2009

Popular Mechanics archives from January 2009

CES news.(Popular Mechanics.com)(Consumer Electronics Show)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Tomorrow's hottest gadgets ate unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show Jan. 8-11 in Las Vegas. PM's there to report on the best new products, from the next Google phone to the thinnest flat-screen TVs. ...

Test drives.(Popular Mechanics.com)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Visit us for more car reviews and get our take early on rides like the 2009 Saturn Vue two-mode Hybrid (right). When the Detroit show rolls around Jan. 17-25, we'll be there too, with comprehensive coverage of next year's best cars. ...

Winter home prep.(Popular Mechanics.com)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Whether you're sealing up drafts, throwing snowballs of fighting the icy-driveway war, PopMech.com can help you get the job done right, with more tools, more projects and more how-to videos. Snowball-Making Tech...

Innovative thinking.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Thanks for featuring the work of the Caltech students and Intelligent Mobility International founders in the November "Breakthrough Awards" story. I love the idea of converting old bicycles into wheelchairs for the...

Energy savers.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2009... Great suggestion, in your story "19 Ways to Slash Your Utility Bill," about using CFLs to save energy, but you need to do more shopping around for the bulbs. Recently I bought a 10-pack that cost just $1.30 a bulb for the 60-watt equivalent....

Mystery machine: a gravity-sensing satellite seeks to answer lingering planetary questions.(TECH WATCH)(Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Gravity is not the same everywhere on Earth. It is influenced by geological formations and the varying density of materials beneath the planet's surface. To map these gravitational differences, the European Space...

New asteroid alarm is a hit.(first time spotting of asteroids )(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... If the end is coming, earthlings will at east get some warning. That's the good news after astronomers for the first time spotted a space rock headed in our direction before it actually hit. About 19 hours elapsed between the discovery of 2008...

A mechanical Martian insect.(the prototype robot dragonfly ExoFly)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Dutch scientists have built a prototype robot dragonfly that could provide aerial reconnaissance for future Mars rover missions. The ExoFly's Mylar wings, balsa frame, onboard camera and lithium-polymer battery have a total mass of less than an...

Engineering a way to make wave damage disappear.(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Researchers in France and Britain have proposed the first practical use for recently developed "invisibility cloaks" that, ideally, would guide light around objects to make them disappear. Instead of lightwaves,...

Smart cars to end gridlock.(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... If cars could talk to each other, it would be easy for drivers to avoid traffic jams. MIT scientists have been running a pilot project in Boston since early 2008 that enables speeding cars to connect with roadside Wi-Fi locations in just 360...

Avoiding the fate of the eight-track.(holographic discs)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Holographic discs may be the next breakthrough for storing information. Instead of being etched with patterns only on the surface, a holo-disc saves data throughout its interior. When the first holographic discs reach the market later this...

Moon dust: peril and promise.(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... When astronauts walked on the moon, fine but abrasive lunar dust (below, in microscopic detail) infested the lander. Scientists recently presented a new concept for the next manned moon mission: air filters using magnets that attract the specks...

Robbing Davy Jones: navies around the world are developing new gear to save submarine crews trapped at the bottom of the ocean.(TECH WATCH)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Submarine rescue stands out as a model of military cooperation. American, Russian, Greek, Ukrainian, Turkish and other naval operators of new rescue equipment proved it last fall when they gathered off the coast of...

Brilliant breakthrough innovators join forces at PM.(TECH WATCH)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Rocket scientists, inventors and game designers met at the 2008 POPULAR MECHANICS Breakthrough Awards, sponsored by Bristol-Myers Squibb, on Oct. 15. Apollo 11 astronaut and PM adviser Buzz Aldrin, DIY Cool Tools host and PM contributor Chris...

Straight talk: enhanced binoculars give users more than a close view by transmitting untappable voice and video signals.(TECH WATCH)(LightSpeed)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... It seems the stuff of James Bond--a pair of spies on opposite rooftops exchanging information via binoculars. However, it's real. The U.S. military is currently using binoculars equipped with USB and Ethernet adapters and receivers that are...

Head cases: CT scans of dinosaur skulls hint at deeper dino communication.(TECH WATCH)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Researchers have long speculated on the purpose of the distinctive, bony protrusions found on the heads of duck-billed dinosaurs (which were discovered in the 1910s), theorizing that they were used by the cold-blooded creatures to gather heat,...

Interplanetary iditarod: hardy earthlings will hitch a three year ride aboard a Mars bound spacecraft 10 determine if life can spread between planets.
January 1, 2009... When a Russian spacecraft sets off late this year to scrape samples of the Martian moon Phobos, at least 10 of Earth's toughest life-forms will be going along for the ride. The pioneering experiment, sponsored by the nonprofit Planetary...

Seeing the forest fires through the trees: green energy takes on new meaning with wildfire sensors powered by the woody plants themselves.(TECH WATCH: EARTH TECH)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Voltree Power's big idea started as a rumor on the Internet: If you drive a nail into a tree trunk and another piece of metal into the ground nearby, the claim goes, you can measure a voltage difference between the two. It turned out to be...

Time machine: December 1969.(TECH WATCH: EARTH TECH)(Orbis)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Nearly 40 years ago, drivers in Texas faced a new law-enforcement technology: an automatic camera. In December 1969 PM examined Orbis, an early anti-speeding device, which took pictures of both license plates and...

Safety drill.(UPGRADE: GEAR + TOOLS + TOYS)(Dewalt DWD460 1/2-in. Stud and Joist Drill)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Drill Drilling holes extra deep and extra wide--say, for running conduit or plumbing lines through joists--requires something with a bit more power than an average homeowner's drill. But if a powerful tool gets...

Google Android.(Close-Up)(Product/service evaluation)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] After years of hype, Google's Android mobile platform is finally here, making its debut in the T-Mobile G1 ($180 w/contract). Android's chief selling point: It is open-source, and less restrictive than the iPhone...

Scalable power.(UPGRADE: WISH LIST)(Apple MacBook Pro)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Mobile electronics and their batteries fight a perpetual power war--and battery life takes the hit every time. The updated Apple MacBook Pro (from $2000) doesn't have a game-changing battery, but it does have a...

TiVo HD XL ($600).(UPGRADE: WISH LIST)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... So what can the TiVo HD XL ($600) give you that a DVR rented from a cable company cannot? Tons and tons of storage. One TB to be exact, which translates into 150 hours of high-definition TV or more than 1300 hours of standard TV. That's enough...

Ski-Doo Snowmobile.(TEST DRIVE)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Two-stroke vehicles are powerful, but they tend to be noisy and stinky, and often have poor fuel efficiency. The two-stroke 600 cc engine in the Ski-Doo MX Z TNT H.O.E-Tec Snowmobile ($9650) uses technology adapted from outboard motors; the...

Sony PRS-700 Reader ($400).(UPGRADE: WISH LIST)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Because it doesn't flicker, E Ink's paperlike image is easy on the eyes. But, like paper, it can't be read in the dark. The touchscreen Sony PRS-700 Reader ($400) is the first E Ink reader with a built-in backlight,...

Push e-mail.(UPGRADE: WISH LIST)(BlackBerry Storm)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] After the iPhone's success, other manufacturers rushed touchscreen phones to market. Not the maker of BlackBerrys--RIM has been biding its time, working on a way to better simulate a keyboard. The result: The...

Amphibious navigator.(UPGRADE: WISH LIST)(Garmin GPSMAP 640)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Landlubbers and seafarers typically require different GPS navigators. The waterproof Garmin GPSMAP 640 ($1200) is outfitted with both road and marine maps and modes, allowing it to pull double duty on the dash of a...

Touchscreen technology.(How It Works)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Capacitive Touchscreens The screen has layers of electrically charged metal particles. The device detects touch by sensing where your finger's natural charge interacts with the screen's. PROS: More sensitive...

Ovation iDea Guitar ($860).(UPGRADE: WISH LIST)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Great melodies aren't always planned. The Ovation iDea Guitar ($860) has a built-in digital recorder that captures spontaneous songwriting. The guitar's pickup grabs the sound of the strings, while a built-in...

Weber Q 140 ($280).(UPGRADE: WISH LIST)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Weber Q 140 ($280) is a portable electric grill that packs m almost as much power as propane. Will charcoal purists scoff? Of course. But this could be the easiest grill option for apartment dwellers, for anyone...

Easy opener.(UPGRADE: WISH LIST)(Rigid forged vise)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Adjusting a bench vise typically requires tediously hand-cranking the jaws open and closed. The Ridgid XF-45 4 1/2-in. Quick Grip Forged Vise ($296) is as easy to open as a zipper. When its spring-loaded trigger is pulled, the jaws easily slide...

Duluth Trading Co. Hacking Knife ($17).(UPGRADE: WISH LIST)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Most knives aren't built to pull double duty as chisels. The steel Duluth Trading Co. Hacking Knife ($17) has a 1/4-in. backside that is designed to take hammer hits without breaking or mushrooming, allowing the blade to brute-force its way...

Pipe pincher.(UPGRADE: WISH LIST)(Milwaukee M12 Copper Tubing Cutter)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Cutting pipes with a conventional ratchet tool is slow, tiresome and difficult to do in tight spaces. The Milwaukee M12 Copper Tubing Cutter ($180) is the first power tool to make this job easier for the small pipes...

Planetary playlist.(UPGRADE: WISH LIST)(Pioneer XMP3)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] XM and Sirius each have their own strengths--XM has always had smaller and more advanced portable players, while Sirius does a better job of attracting top-flight talent. Now that the former rivals have merged,...

Full circle.(NEW CARS: CROSSOVER + PICKUP+ SPORT SEDAN)(Toyota Venza)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... SUVs and even relatively fuel-efficient crossovers are languishing on dealer lots. So Toyota is cutting the family-wagon segment one slice thinner. The Venza is, in large part, a Camry station wagon. Yet it's impossible to detect the shared...

Showtime.(NEW CARS: FIRST LOOK)(Product/service evaluation)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The new Ford Mustang was a hit at November s 2008 LA Auto Show. But for GM, perhaps its biggest introduction of the year happened not an auto show, but at the company's centennial celebration in September. That's...

First-time player.(NEW CARS: TEST DRIVES)(2009 Suzuki Equator)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 1 2009 Suzuki Equator Does this truck look familiar? It should--it's really a Nissan. A Suzuki pickup is a natural, given the company's lineup of dirt bikes and ATVs. So Suzuki partnered with Nissan to...

Family solitude.(2009 Chevy Traverse)(Product/service evaluation)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 2 2009 Chevy Traverse In the bad old days, when a manufacturer built a fourth vehicle off a common platform, there was little--if any--excitement left. Been there, right? The Traverse shares its mechanical...

Easter bunny.(2009 BMW 335d)(Product/service evaluation)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 1 2009 BMW 335d We've just hammered the new sixth-generation Golf on some of the wettest and roughest Nordic roads imaginable near Reykjavik, Iceland. Most of our time was spent with the same 2.0-liter...

Stop-gap solution.(2009 Chevy Cobalt XFE)(Product/service evaluation)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 2 2009 Chevy Cobalt XFE GM may be racing the clock to debut its Chevy Volt, but that's not helping our wallets right now. We need better fuel economy today. So until the Volt touches down, less glamorous...

The big tease.(2009 Subaru Forester Diesel)(Product/service evaluation)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 3 2009 Subaru Forester Diesel Subaru's diesel Forester is for Europe only. Should it be sold here? We traveled to Austria to find out. The 2.0-liter diesel makes only 145 hp, but there's a full 258 lb-ft of...

Velvet hammer.(BMW 335d)(Product/service evaluation)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 1 2009 BMW 335d Soon, we'll get one of the meanest oil burners around--BMW's twin-turbo 335d. Up to 2000 rpm, the first turbo peps up the performance of the straight Six. Then when its puff starts to wane,...

Fueling the future.(NEW CARS: TEST DRIVES)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 2 2009 Ford Fiesta In the past, few cared about tiny cars. But last year's fuel-price hike changed that--maybe for good. The economical, Euro-bred Fiesta will allow Ford to integrate its models across the...

Fuel fighters.(NEW CARS: HEAD TO HEAD)
January 1, 2009... The debate between hybrid and diesel rages on message boards around the Web. Both drivetrains accomplish the same goal--improved fuel economy. But to find out which one could be the better solution, we decided to pair up two eco heavy...

Tough sledding: a new breed of extreme sleds is bringing the childhood pastime out of the backyard and into the backcountry.(I'LL TRY ANYTHING)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Come winter, Vermont's Lincoln Gap Road undergoes a radical transformation. As mounds of fresh snow turn the region into a frozen Narnia, the rustic thoroughfare over the Green Mountains becomes inaccessible to...

Rebuilding the past: remanufactured parts help keep cherished classics on the road.(JAY LENO'S GARAGE)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Duesenbergs, I love 'em. They called the Duesy America's Mightiest Motor Car. Introduced on the eve of the Great Depression, the Model J had a 420-cu-in. twin-cam 32-valve straight Eight. Peugeot was first with...

The coast guard's dirtiest job: how a crew of 20-somethings keeps the global shipping industry in motion, one buoy at a time.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] All eyes on the bridge of the USCGC Juniper dart between navigation screens and a flash of yellow bobbing several thousand yards off the ship's gently pitching bow. The 225-ft Coast Guard ship is cresting whitecaps...

Bringing home the epic: it's about time. With hi-def discs and downloads now widely available, Hollywood is finally tackling the job of turning film classics into digital masterpieces.
January 1, 2009... THE COLOR OF MONEY, EVERYBODY KNOWS, IS GREEN. THE COLOR OF POOL TABLE FELT in Martin Scorsese's 1986 movie The Color of Money is... blue? Wait a see--rewind. That s not quite right, is it? Actually, it's wrong. The blue pool tables in The...

Heavy lifters: the full-size pickup is an essential tool when we tackle the big jobs--the ones only a 6-ft bed of steel can handle. We put the five new half-tons to the test.(PM COMPARISON TEST)
January 1, 2009... The automotive world is downsizing. Concerns about fuel costs, the environment and the weak economy have forced automakers to shrink both the size of vehicles and sales expectations. Big, thirsty and, yes, profitable vehicles just aren't moving...

Whos tracking you? The digital devices you use to organize your life are keeping very detailed notes. Is personal technology worth its cost in personal privacy?(Cover story)
January 1, 2009... MARISEL GARCIA FIRST SUSPECTED something was amiss with her laptop when she noticed that the tiny activity light above the built-in camera flickered whenever she was in front of it. The Hialeah, Fla., resident also thought the PC's battery was...

The joy of welding: laying the perfect bead is a delicate art. Master the craft and ordinary mild steel becomes a blank canvas for invention.
January 1, 2009... A thing of beauty is a joy forever. And around our Saturday Mechanic shop, beauty often takes the form of a perfectly laid welding bead--one that looks like a tall stack of dimes laid on its side. Okay, welding has some practical aspects, too....

Concrete decision.(DIY HOME: TOOLBOX + CONCRETE COUNTERTOPS + FLOOD DAMAGE)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Q My friends had a concrete counter installed in their new kitchen. I really like, how it looks and was considering making one myself. It doesn't look like it would be all that difficult to make, to tell you the...

Flooded electricals.(DIY HOME: TOOLBOX + CONCRETE COUNTERTOPS + FLOOD DAMAGE)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... We returned from vacation to find that a broken plumbing connection to our well tank had flooded our basement. The water got so deep it went up to the service panel, submerging the bottom two breakers. We've dried out the basement--now what do...

Counter intuitive: a convincing faux-concrete finish.(HOME SWEET HOME)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... You've probably already seen one of these: a kitchen or bath counter that looks like it's concrete or something close to it. It's probably SkimStone, a cementitious coating that's applied in multiple thin coats to a substrate such as an...

Year-round Adirondack chairs.(DIY HOME: TOOLBOX + CONCRETE COUNTERTOPS + FLOOD DAMAGE)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... We leave our Adirondack chairs on the deck year-round and use them on nice winter days. I'd like to bring them into the garage this winter and stain them. What stain should I use? On the other hand, if the stain will be damaged by the cold when...

Bouncy floor.(DIY HOME: TOOLBOX + CONCRETE COUNTERTOPS + FLOOD DAMAGE)
January 1, 2009... Our ranch house has 2 x 8 floor joists that span 12 ft from the foundation to the beam in the basement's center. Aside from the fact that the floor feels uncomfortably bouncy, it appears to cause the bathroom floor to flex and to crack the...

Tough box: give your tools a strong, sturdy home worthy of the work they do.(Classics: Simple Do-It-Yourself Projects)
January 1, 2009... Toolboxes these days look less and less like boxes. They're bags, usually. You might go so far as to call them tool purses. No matter how tough the ballistic nylon, a sack just doesn't have that same lunch-pail appeal as a rigid, stiff-sided...

New new year's resolutions: the tool-user's guide to a better 2009.
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] AS each year ends and another begins, Americans make the same old resolution: Stop smoking and drinking, travel, lose weight and spend more time with the family. There's nothing wrong with those ideas. Sort of. But...

Anatomy of a repair order: signing that repair order doesn't have to hurt so much, here's how to read between the lines.(DIY AUTO: DEALING WITH MECHANICS + LEAKY RIMS + FENDERS WITH A FLAIR)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Your car won't start. Again. Luckily, you have a manual-shift transmission and manage to bump-start it in the driveway. First stop? The repair shop. The service writer takes your information, and the mechanic takes...

Tiny bubbles.(Car Clinic: Q + A)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Q One tire on my Yukon has a slow leak. Or so I thought, until I just replaced the tire because I got tired of filling it every week. Now the new tire leaks. The guy at the gas station wants to put some of that green, slimy goo in the tire to...

Fender flare rehab 101.(Car Clinic: Q + A)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Someone keyed my Toyota Sequoia on the raised portion of the fender around the wheel. The scratch is about 12 in. long. Can this be repaired or does it need to be replaced? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] If yours is flat black, that's the...

Pressure sensitive.(Car Clinic: Q + A)
January 1, 2009... I recently had the brake lines replaced on my 1993 Suburban. The original lines had started to rust. Now I notice the brake pedal isn't as firm and full as I like it. Another mechanic checked it over and said the ABS and the master cylinder are...

Lock lubrication.(Car Clinic: Q + A)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... I have a problem with my manual door locks. When I insert the key I have to jiggle it and turn it at the same time to get the mechanism to unlock or lock. I've used graphite spray made for locks, but it only works for about a week. It does this...

Working as designed: heating up heated mirrors.(THE MECHANIC'S HEADS UP)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Heated sideview mirrors are a great convenience. They use a simple resistance heater glued to the back of the mirror glass to gently warm the surface and remove ice and snow, while you keep your fingers warm and dry...

Gearing down.(Car Clinic: Q + A)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... I own a half-ton pickup with an automatic and a V6 engine. I often downshift as I leave the freeway. Would you please comment on this practice? Sure. I once had the privilege of spending some time with engineer and race driver Mark Donohue,...

Start it up.(Car Clinic: Q + A)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... How do you start a car with fuel injection? I was told you shouldn't pump the gas. I hear the fuel injection handles this by itself, and you could mess the system up if you pump the gas while you turn the key. Myth or fact? Fact. Any car...

Stop, in the name of love.(Car Clinic: Q + A)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... I have a 1993 Chyrsler Fifth Avenue with around 120,000 miles. Every time I start the car and press the brake to put the car into drive or reverse, the ABS light comes on for a few seconds and I can hear the ABS pump. Also, the ABS light comes...

Smarter switching: the first step to home automation is to upgrade basic switches and outlets to a fully networked electrical system.(DIY TECH: LOST PASSWORDS + BOOSTING WI-FI + LCD SCREEN SAVERS)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "But the light swatches work just fine," said my wife. "Why are you changing them?" It was, l admit, a good question. Why go through the trouble to yank out perfectly good light switches and outlets, and then replace...

Improving in-home Wi-Fi.(Digital Clinic: Q + A)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Q The Wi-Fi reception in my house is very weak. Is there any way to boost the signal? A Wi-Fi can travel through just about anything in your home. If it didn't, it wouldn't be any more useful than a wired...

Static screens.(Digital Clinic: Q + A)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... I switched long ago from a CRT to an LCD computer monitor. Do I still need to use a screen saver? If you leave an unmoving image on a CRT monitor for a long period of time, the screen could suffer from "burn-in," which basically means a ghost...

Netflix delays.(Digital Clinic: Q + A)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... My Netflix movies don't seem to be coming as quickly as they did when I first signed up. What's up with that? You may be the latest victim of the infamous Netflix "throttle." Many Netflix subscribers claim that, after a brief honeymoon with the...

Gmail gets goofy.(DIGI TIP)(Google)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Google's engineers have been cooking up new features. Does anyone need them? You decide. Mail Goggles: To protect against sending regrettable late night e-mails, users must prove their sobriety by doing math...

Locked windows.(Digital Clinic: Q + A)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... I lost the password I use to log on to Windows Vista. Do I need to reinstall Windows, or is there another way of regaining access to my computer? These days, we toss around so many passwords for so many different pro grams that it's easy...

This is my job: vertical gun range engineer.(Chuck Cornelison of NASA's Ballistic Range Complex )(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... CHUCK CORNELISON > NASA AMES RESEARCH CENTER > AGE: 45 > YEARS ON JOB: 22 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] When Chuck Cornelison gets ready for target practice, he loads his 12-ft-long gun and shoots projectiles in excess of 18,000 mph. But...