Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2019 i Popular Mechanics South Africa

CRYPTOCURRENCY CRYPTOCURRENCY AND blockchain have been huge buzzwords in the tech industry in recent years, and despite the occasional dip in the market, it was a pretty quick and easy way to make some extra cash … until last year. According to CoinDesk, November 2018 saw the worst monthly decline for Bitcoin in the past seven years. It wasn’t the only cryptocurrency to endure such turbulent times, but as by far the most recognisable cryptocurrency, it’s been a good indicator for the general public to know how the market has been doing. With the current volatility in the cryptocurrency market, you have to ask why anyone would start a cryptocurrency company now. To gain some insight, I sat down with Sean Andrew Sanders, co-founder of Revix, to find out more…

'7–10 Split' MEANING: Also called 'Bedposts', it’s one of the trickiest splits to pick up as you have to get the corner pin to slide all the way over the lane. 'The Greek Church' is the hardest split – google it. ‘Anchor’ MEANING: The person who bowls last on a team in league play. Usually the best bowler on the team, cool under pressure. ‘Thank goodness for that Brooklyn.’ MEANING: I wasn’t able to get a strike the traditional way. The ball had to cross over to the other side of the head pin opposite to how I threw it. ‘Nice hambone.’ MEANING: You went the extra mile and got four consecutive strikes instead of being satisfied with a turkey (three strikes in a row). ‘Didn’t see that sleeper.’ MEANING:…

OVER THE PAST thirty years or so, there has been a burgeoning interest in the use of Japanese woodworking tools and methods by Western woodworkers. We’re attracted to these tools for myriad reasons. For some, it’s the philosophy and traditions of the Japanese woodworker, or the technical aspects and quality of the tools, for others, it’s the appeal of the aeons-old history of Japanese swordand blade makers. We have remarkable woodworkers such as George Nakashima, Toshio Odate and others to thank for bringing Japanese tools and techniques to the forefront in Western woodworking, and a growing number of us contend that Japanese tool design is superior in many ways. In case you were wondering, I do still love my Western hand tools – I grew up with them, their techniques…

THE COUCH IS one of the pleasures of civilised existence. Here’s how you can extend its life. High-quality couches are expensive, but they also last a long time. Occasionally, one of these much-loved pieces of furniture gets so worn down that it needs to be either replaced … or rejuvenated! A logical approach to couch construction can result in your favourite relaxation zone getting a second lease on life. The couch we decided to re-stuff and reupholster was covered in badly worn faux leather. This was stripped down to the sturdy timber frame, the main seat bench with springs and basic foam covering, and the still-firm foam squares of the main seat. As with any construction project, measurements are key. The areas where new foam was needed – the entire…

IN 1957, MERCURY MARINE founder Carl Kiekhaefer bought a 582 ha body of water that he called Lake X. It was perfect for covert testing, close enough to his Orlando headquarters to be convenient, but far enough away to ensure that nobody outside the company would end up there by accident. In 1984, Mercury sold the property to the Kirchman Foundation, a non-profit conservation group, ostensibly because Mercury’s racing programme outgrew the confines of the 5 km lake. Now, Mercury is back at the compound, leasing the property from Kirchman to test production engines. Five kilometres is still plenty of water, it seems, as long as you keep it under 160 km/h or so. Lake X is surrounded by 4 000 ha of forest and swamp. There’s a guard at…

AERODYNAMICS Traditional wing mirrors replaced with Audi Virtual Exterior mirrors, ensuring every kW is maximised. Flat underbody and computer-controlled air intakes in the grille provide a drag coefficient of 0.27. POWER TRAIN Effectively electric quattro with ‘two-axle drive’ (125 kW up front, 140 kW at the rear) boasts 300 kW/664 Nm of total output in Boost mode. The 0–100 km/h sprint time is 5.7 sec. It has a claimed 400 km range, although we peg it closer to 325 km from our first drive. BATTERY At the e-tron’s core is a ‘double bed’ of lithium-ion batteries, 432 cells in 36 modules producing 95 kWh of zip. Protected by reinforced ‘box within a box’ aluminium housing, hi-tech thermal gel dissipates heat and also acts as an acid absorber in the event…

Master Lock Set-Your-Own Combination Padlock: Has an 85 mm-wide metal body and a 5 mm-diameter shackle that’s 30 mm long, and is resistant to cutting and sawing. Master Lock Aluminium Combination Padlock: Has a 20 mm-wide aluminium body with a brass finish, a 3 mm-diameter brass-plated steel shackle which fits most luggage zips, and a 3-digit set-your-own combination. Master Lock Key Lock Box: Features a 90 mm-wide metal body that fits multiple house keys. The shutter door protects the dials from adverse weather. (Set your own 4-digit combination.) Master Lock Luggage Lock: Features a 30 mm-wide metal body and a 3 mm-diameter shackle made of flexible vinyl-covered braided steel. (Set your own combination; TSA accepted.) Send your tips to popularmechanics@ramsaymedia.co.za with the subject line: ‘Do It Your Way’. Regrettably, only South…

MISS THE MARK This letter is not about the quality of a restoration, per se. Rather, it deals with the disintegration of a trademark which had been ingrained into the wood of my phonograph during this process. This trademark is a critical must-have for any antique of this nature. One of my most treasured possessions is a Graphophone phonograph with a great big horn. This is the name and trademark of an improved version of the phonograph that was invented all those years ago at the Volta Laboratory established by Alexander Graham Bell in Washington DC. The Editor’s words in the January/February edition of Popular Mechanics said it all: ‘I love things that are made of wood, and are made well, and that serve a function.’ These are my sentiments…

LAST APRIL, after a suspected chemical weapons attack in Douma, Syria, killed dozens of people and sickened hundreds more, an international monitoring group called the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons sent a team to investigate. In May the OPCW released its results: suspected chlorine gas. Jerry Smith, who served as senior inspection team leader at OPCW from 2011 to 2012 and the head of contingency operations from 2013 to 2014, explains their process. WHAT THE INSPECTORS WEAR Impermeable rubber suits are more protective than thin, charcoal-lined permeable suits, but the heat burden is enormous. The higher the threat – if it’s unknown or there’s massive liquid and vapour contamination – you go in with fully encapsulated suits and breathing apparatuses. Otherwise, you can use filtering systems, such as…

KESHIKI – JAPANESE MARKING GAUGES Keshiki are available in many different sizes to suit the work at hand, much in the same way as Western woodworking. They are dissimilar to the traditional Western style gauges in that they all use blades instead of pins to create the scribe line both with and across the grain. As you can imagine, a blade will always leave a finer and cleaner line than a pin, because it cleanly severs the wood fibres, instead of scratching or tearing a line into the wood. In addition to this, there is no need to angle the marking gauge during your scribing process as one would do with a Western pin-type marking gauge to avoid tear-out, because the blade is bevelled. Just like many other Japanese tools,…

Base price: $960 000 (±R13 360 000), but all have been sold. Engine: Twin-turbo V-8 Kilowatts: 588 Weight: 1 309 kg Zero to 100: 2.8 seconds Top speed: 335 km/h Electric drive: None Named for: Three-time F1 champion Ayrton Senna who raced for McLaren. I’M CALLING IT: The McLaren Senna is one of the all-time greats. Fifty years from now, you will see it plastered on posters and headlining Pebble Beach auctions. It’s a very small club, popu lated by the likes of the Ferrari F40, the Porsche 959, and the Senna’s ancestor, the McLaren F1. To join, a car has to have performance that seems decades ahead of its time. And that’s what you get: a milliondollar wedge of wings and diffusers that you could race at Le Mans…

COOL TOOLS! THE JELLYFISH CATCHER LAST YEAR, researchers at Harvard, the University of Rhode Island, and Baruch College announced a new invention. It’s called the Rotary Actuated Dodecahedron sampler (RAD), and it allows them to study sensitive marine life without, well, squishing it. The 3D-printed device has five translucent arms that measure 50 cm across. When a jellyfish or other interesting creature comes close, those arms close together to trap the animal inside, where cameras and other sensors are focused to allow for remote observation. That means researchers will be able to study deep-sea creatures without even getting in the water. In the future, jellyfish catchers will be bigger – much bigger! – and able to work as deep as 11 000 m below the surface of the sea, where…

FACEBOOK, GOOGLE, AND TWITTER are waging an unseen but highly charged war on foreign hackers. Just as the US Defense Department contracts private companies to build nuclear submarines, social media companies hire digital private eyes to find fake posts meant to influence the way Americans think about certain issues or candidates. One firm, FireEye, worked with Facebook to unearth fake pages during last year’s build-up to the United States midterm elections. The company reported a network of more than 650 fake accounts created in what was determined to be an Iranian government effort. Lee Foster, FireEye’s manager of information operations analysis, explains how they track down the offending accounts. POPULAR MECHANICS: When you’re looking for foreign influence campaigns, where do you start? LEE FOSTER: Forensic indicators. There’s the content-related side,…

FOOD TO MAKE AND EAT AFTER A HARD DAY ’ S WORK. THE MEAL Mozzarella en carozza – or ‘mozzarella in a carriage’ – is nothing more than an Italian cheese sandwich that’s been breaded and grilled. But sometimes a sandwich just isn’t enough for me. I want something a little cheesier, a little gooier. So, instead of using two slices of bread and one layer of mozzarella placed broad side on the griddle, I stack four slices of bread with three layers of cheese, cut this tower into four even squares, and grill them on all sides. It’s like a big, fancy mozzarella stick. THE EQUIPMENT SOLOMON USES: Reversible Pro Grid Iron Grill/Griddle by Lodge Manufacturing, made in Tennessee. ‘The griddle has all of the Lodge cast-iron properties –…

For beginners BEST CAMERA: FUJIFILM X-T20 Overall, I tend to gravitate towards smaller cameras, and as a beginner photographer, it is good to have a product that’s versatile and compact. If you’re someone who might be interested in street photography, it is important to have a camera that is discreet and easy to carry in your backpack. The XT-20 is simple to use – it has everything you might need, from WiFi connectivity to a high ISO, which helps in low-light conditions. R14 499 at takealot.com For vlogging BEST CAMERA: SONY A7SII It really depends on what kind of vlogging you’re into, but a great all-round camera to film with is the Sony A7Sii. It’s compact and extremely portable, and shoots some incredible footage – something every vlogger can appreciate. It can…

Cybercrime is a global issue. It’s borderless, and cyberspace remains unregulated, isolated and fragmented. On top of that, international legislation is severely underdeveloped, with countries responding to malware attacks by closing their doors and putting up both geopolitical and regulatory barriers. ‘More than 30 countries have their own cyberwarfare division,’ explains Oleg Abdurashitov, Kaspersky Lab’s Head of Public Affairs for Asia Pacific. ‘These are people developing cyber-weapons, malware, pieces of code designed to cause damage. We’re dealing with code designed by military divisions.’ In today’s connected, technology-driven world, the safety of our online life is at risk. And to move from an era of cybersecurity to cyber-immunity, means citizens, companies and countries need to collaborate and cooperate. ‘Cybersecurity cannot exist without a solid basis of trust,’ elaborates Eugene Kaspersky. ‘We…

EVERY WOODWORKING workshop on the planet uses sanding in one form or another. Whether you get your cardio workout by hand sanding or use one or more of the wide variety of powered sanders available, sanding wood is an intrinsic part of the woodworking process. Buying a sander can be intimidating, so this month, we’ve taken a look at the different types of hand-held sanders on the market. To keep things simple, remember that sanders fall into one of three categories: belt, orbital and random orbital sanders. BELT SANDERS These machines vary in size, ranging from small file-type units to small single-hand use devices, all the way up to heavy beasts that require two hands to operate. They are primarily used for the aggressive removal of stock, such as levelling…

UNLESS YOU’RE SUFFERING from a debilitating irony deficiency, you’d agree that Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates is a neat place for Audi to host the first drive of its all-electric e-tron. The oil-obsessed nation is practically built on the stuff and you’d think driving a car that moves without it (not directly, anyway), or the sheer size of the Gulf region itself, would be a major hurdle. But, in truth, it feels like there’s something of a crusade going on – one to rid the world of internal-combustion vehicles altogether, perhaps. If the Audi e-tron can succeed here, it can succeed anywhere. Our jumping-off point is outside of Abu Dhabi in Masdar City. It functions completely off the grid and has ready-built chargers, so the e-tron gets its…

HOW TO FILL A HOT-AIR BALLOON First, you have to fill the deflated balloon with air, says Sam Parks, a 30-year veteran hot-air-balloon pilot. After unfolding the balloon so it lies flat on its side, pilots use a huge fan to partially inflate it with cool morning air. Next, they turn on propane burners, which put out 15 to 20 million Btu of heat, to heat the air. Like any gas, air expands when heated, becoming less dense – and rising above denser elements. When the air inside the balloon gets to around 40°C above the temperature outside the balloon, the balloon lifts into the air. Once full, the typical modern-day hot-air balloon carries about 2 250 m3 of air. (That’s about the equivalent of 80 000 basketballs!) HOW TO…