Innholdsfortegnelse for November - December 2021 i Popular Mechanics South Africa

AFTER MANY QUIET WEEKS (or maybe it’s been months), mostly spent at my desk in front of my computer screen (with the occasional bit of exercise snuck in-between), the last several weeks have seen a flurry of activities come my way, and along with them a change of pace that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed. I’ve been fortunate enough to receive a number of exciting test vehicles to review (some of which you can read about in this issue in the PM Garage section on page 86), and I attended the media launch events of the new VW Golf 8 GTI, and the long-awaited Toyota Land Cruiser 300 (what an incredible vehicle, which I hope to tell you about in the near future). I spent three days with my colleagues from CAR…

At the crux of Mission: Impossible – Fallout, Tom Cruise’s character Ethan Hunt and antagonist August Walker, played by Henry Cavill, come to blows atop Norway’s famed Pulpit Rock. The granite cliff caught the eye of study co-author Gábor Domokos, a mechanics professor at Budapest University of Technology. ‘Somebody took me to see the movie and, at the end, I said “My god! Look at those fractures!”’ he says. Domokos asked one of his assistants to run an analysis on an image of Pulpit Rock to see whether the outcrop’s fracture patterns fit Plato’s theorised cuboid average. ‘I didn’t tell him what it was. I just told him to do it,’ Domokos says. ‘And, of course, he got the right numbers.’…

LET’S JUST TAKE A moment to consider the harlequin mantis shrimp, a small marine crustacean that would barely fit in the palm of your hand. Yet, incredibly, and in spite of its size, it can throw a punch so powerful it would fracture the reinforced glass of an aquarium. But that’s not its only defining factor: It has 16 different kinds of photoreceptors – more than any other animal in the world. The human retina, by comparison, has four, and with those we see millions of colours. Can you imagine what the shrimps sees? It’s mind-boggling what the animal kingdom can teach us, and Jackie Higgins has set out to do just that in her popularscience book Sentient. In a nutshell, the book is a celebration of the animal kingdom.…

IN A WORD, the all-new XPS 13 (9310) is a beast. From its 13.4” full HD Infinity Edge display to its Intel Core i7 1185G7 processor, it’s small, ultra-portable and oh-so powerful. Dell has several laptop ranges to choose from, and it can get confusing. To keep things simple, if you’re on a budget, go for Inspiron. Needing something more powerful, Precision it is. For gaming, opt for G5, and then there’s XPS, which manages just about everything (at a price, of course). Durable, compact and lightweight, thanks to its machine-milled aluminium chassis, it’s a highly portable all-rounder. The ‘13’ in the name denotes the rounded-down screen size; this model features a 16:0 borderless display at full HD or 4K resolution, and 100 per cent sRGB colour support from the…

WHEN YOU THINK OF BREWING BEER, YOU LIKELY imagine barley and hops, and not so much the tech and machinery that go into making it. But a beer is just as good as its manufacturing process, and Anheuser-Busch (AB) InBev, a global leader in beer-making, is no stranger to this. For the last five years, the company has been upgrading its breweries to fall into step with a world that’s quickly becoming more digitally savvy. This global project has been dubbed Brewery of the Future (BoTF), and AB InBev’s South African Breweries (SAB) has been at the forefront of some of their most significant technological roll-outs. We spoke to two experts at the helm of this operation in the AB InBev Africa Zone, Vernon Keys and Chris Clark, to get…

INSECTS Most common types for human consumption are the Acheta and the banded cricket, says Jarrod Goldin, president of Canada-based insect farm Entomo Farms. Packed with a nutty, earthy flavour, crickets are rich in protein, prebiotic fibres, and antioxidants. ALGAE Triton Algae Innovations’ proprietary strain of algae boasts flavour-mimicking properties – think savoury flavours of meaty foods and salty notes of umami. ‘It runs about 45 to 50 per cent protein, has a complete amino acid profile, and is rich in vitamin A and iron,’ says David Schroeder, director of corporate and regulatory affairs. ANIMAL-FREE EGG WHITES Clara Foods converts sugar into proteins, which are then encoded with 3D-printed genes that code for the same proteins found in an egg, explains CEO Arturo Elizondo. One strain produces a baking albumen;…

WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND? WRITE TO US popularmechanics@ramsaymedia.co.za GO TINY, OR GO HOME Reading about the tiny nuclear reactors in the previous issue gave me a sense of déjà vu. I had a strong feeling that I’d read about this previously… Then I realised that it was in the context of South Africa’s Pebble Bed Molecular Reactor (PBMR) project of the 1990s. I had thought that that project had a bright future, because of the inherent safety of pebble bed reactors, and their scalability down to village-sized units. Nuclear energy faces growing public resistance due to safety considerations, which has led some countries to abandon nuclear energy entirely. It’s not so much the possibility of an accident that is concerning, but rather the extremely long duration of the after-effects of…

IF YOU LOVE video games, you probably already love Razer, a brand well known for its gaming PCs, laptops, keyboards, controllers and more. Less expensive than the original Razer Opus (described as the ‘magnum opus of gaming audio’), the Opus X is a wireless-only lowlatency over-ear headset. Available in three colours – mercury white, quartz pink and Razer green – the design is minimalistic, with subtle branding only on the sides. They’re lightweight and adjustable, with soft ear padding and average-sized rotatable ear cups that are comfortable enough to wear for hours at a time, which is a good thing, considering battery life is around 30 hours with active noise cancelling (ANC) turned on, and up to 40 with it off. Although the Opus X is a headset (as…

A smart conspiracy theorist never wears a tinfoil hat. According to research by Massachusetts Institute of Technology students in 2005, tinfoil can actually amplify mobile communication and satellite frequencies, including those used by the Federal Communication Commission. Based on these findings, the researchers (jokingly) speculated that tinfoil hats were a ploy propagated by the government to track the thoughts of US citizens. So remove the headgear: Thanks to evolution, you’re probably curious about dozens of conspiracies – even in the face of logic and reason. Conspiracies are fun to dissect and debate, but there’s a deeper appeal: Humans have a natural scepticism towards authority and power. ‘We descended from primates that tended to notice dangerous, hidden things, like a predator in the grass,’ says Michael Shermer, PhD, presidential fellow at…

12 ISSUES FOR ONLY R359 + FREE DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTION AND FREE DELIVERY OF YOUR MAGAZINE SIMPLY CONTACT US AND QUOTE 21/12/GEN/CAR HOW TO SUBSCRIBE online visit hmshop.co.za email Subscriptions@hsm.co.za call 087 550 0329 tel TERMS AND CONDITIONS: This offer is valid until 31 December 2021 and applies to print subscribers with a South African address only. By providing your personal details, you are giving Car permission to communicate with you via email or SMS, For other great offers visit hmshop.co.za For foreign rates, please contact Ramsay Media on 087 550 0329 or email Subscriptions@hsm.co.za…

IN THE PREVIOUS ISSUE, we learnt how to make half-lap joints. Here, we use those joints to build a small folding table for indoor or outdoor use. It’s a versatile piece of furniture that’s easy to construct, and can be simply folded away when not in use. INNER LEG ASSEMBLY OUTER LEG ASSEMBLY TABLE TOP APRON FRAME ASSEMBLY TABLE TOP SLAT LAYOUT WHAT YOU’LL NEED CUTTING LIST HARDWARE Quantity Product 4 8 mm brass dome nuts 4 8 mm × 50 mm high-tensile countersink bolts 4 8 mm × 20 mm brass washers 24 Brass countersink wood screws 1 Countersink bit 1 2 mm diameter drill bit 1 3 mm diameter drill bit 1 8 mm brad point drill bit 1 16 mm diameter Forstner drill bit CONSUMABLES Product Type…

If you’re in mud, sand, or snow, even if you have four-wheel drive, electronic stability control (ESC) might actually get you stuck. That’s because the system is designed to cut power to any tyres that are spinning – which, in this case, will be all of them – so you grind to a halt. But offroad, wheel spin is sometimes good, because it helps preserve forward momentum. To turn off ESC, find the button with squiggly lines, and hold it down for at least five seconds, until you get visual confirmation that the whole thing is off. Some cars, such as Volvos, might not have a dedicated button, but it’s in there somewhere – even if it’s buried five menus deep in the touch screen system.…

I built this kist for my daughter as an additional wedding gift (and afterwards realised that it would make a great entry into the Kreg prize giveaway competition). I was given the inside dimensions, as my daughter had already calculated what she wanted to store inside. In addition to holding certain items, it had to be sturdy enough to be used as a two-seater when pushed up against the wall. I started by dismantling some old wooden pallets. Next, I welded an internal frame, to which I could attach the wood using Tek Screws. I sanded the wood down, cut the pieces to size, and started populating the frame. Once the construction was complete, I varnished the kist with Woodoc Marine to seal and preserve the wood from any accidental…

WHAT WOULD YOU get if you smashed the Earth into little bits? To answer that question, scientists from the US and Hungary ran a series of simulations illustrating the ways that rock fractures. The results help us understand the natural shapes on Earth and across our solar system. They also confirmed what philosopher Plato had theorised in ancient Greece: As you break down the Earth, it crumbles into cubes. This explains the distinct fracture patterns observed in nature, says study co-author Douglas Jerolmack, PhD, a geophysics professor at the University of Pennsylvania. ‘Since fragmentation is a ubiquitous process that breaks rock and ice across the solar system, our findings help to explain the shape and size of planetary materials.’ In the first of the computer simulations performed by teams from…

MÖBIUS STRIP (fig. 2) Known as the ‘twisted cylinder’, the Möbius strip is a one-sided, non-orientable surface. In other words, it’s a shape that, if you trace a line along it, will bring you back to the mirror image of your starting point (that initial point’s reflection on a 2D coordinate plane). You can make your own Möbius strip if you give a strip of paper one half-twist and tape the ends together to form a continuous loop. Most simply of all, a Möbius strip is essentially the infinity symbol manifested in 3D space. KLEIN BOTTLE (fig. 3) The Klein bottle is a type of non-orientable surface that is impossible to consistently plot in a two-dimensional space. And because it is a one-sided surface, you will gradually flip upside down…

FROM MILKSHAKES to soups, and everything in-between, until you’ve incorporated the Vitamer into your lifestyle, you won’t realise just how useful it is to carry a portable blender with you when you’re out and about. Imagine making iced coffee at the office, or a meal-replacement smoothie while out hiking. Usually miss out on your morning smoothie while on self-catering getaways? What about that urgent cocktail during a load-shedding event? With the Vitamer it can all happen. It might be rechargeable and portable, but it’s as strong as many plug-in alternatives. Even blending ice isn’t an issue. The stainlesssteel blades cut through most items you’d typically blend, meaning the device can even double-up as a juicer if required (we whipped up a decent gazpacho). It’s fantastic for creating dips, pesto, or…

Modern conspiracy theories such as Pizzagate and QAnon are propagated almost entirely on social media. Facebook, Twitter, Parler, Gab and other platforms are free and fast, and allow for the instantaneous creation of communities that rally around unproven assertions or accusations. In fact, ‘Social media is the ideal carrier of conspiracism,’ says Nancy L Rosenblum, professor of ethics in politics and government at Harvard University and author of A Lot of People Are Saying: The New Conspiracism and the Assault on Democracy. Here’s why. IT DOESN’T REQUIRE EVIDENCE. Classic conspiracy theories persist because their adherents cling to close examination and ‘evidence’ – shadowy plotters, grainy photographs, shaky alibis – they can connect, even if by a sort of pretzel logic. New conspiracy theories, however, are deeply held alternative explanations that…

WHAT KIND OF PERSON DOES IT TAKE TO PADDLE ACROSS the mighty Atlantic Ocean, from Cape Town to Salvador in Brazil, all on their own, with no support vessel? Well, judging by my conversation with Richard Kohler, a pretty laid-back one. Jeans, flip-flops, comfy T-shirt, and a smile that punctuates repeatedly – these are the things I noticed first when chatting to this avid adventurer. But underneath all that is man with a deep determination to achieve his goals. A thinker. A planner. A man of action. And you might assume those qualities are at odds with his laid-back nature. I don’t think so. For Richard, there’s a symbiotic harmony between his single-mindedness and his relaxed demeanour. They complement each other, feed off each other, and I’m willing to bet…

ON 5 AUGUST 2013, CHEF RICHARD McGeown was in London, preparing to film a cooking segment on British television. McGeown was searing a burger, something he’d done countless times before. But this time, an estimated billion people would be watching or reading about what was about to transpire. Because the round, pink mass McGeown was cooking was a $325 000 burger made from stem cells cultivated in a lab by scientists in the Netherlands. ‘It’s close to meat,’ said Hanni Rützler, a food trend researcher who tried the so-called in vitro patty. But, she noted, it lacked fat and juiciness. Perfection wasn’t the goal for Mark Post, the lead scientist behind the burger. ‘This is just to show we can do it.’ Futurists have imagined growing meat from cells for…

STEP 1 (PREPARATION): Break down your rough wood into all the parts specified in the cutting list. We achieved the entire project using only one good board measuring 1 600 mm long × 200 mm wide × 50 mm thick, and we even had a little left over. For the six tabletop slats, choose the most attractive grain for the faces of the boards. Plane and square all surfaces of each component, and label each part clearly. STEP 2 (INNER LEG ASSEMBLY): Accuracy in your marking and scribing layout is critical. For the inner leg frame, take two of the leg blanks (650 mm × 35 mm × 20 mm) and clamp them together. Mark out the positions of the two stretchers, the pivot-bolt centre and dowel centre, and scribe…

INCLUDES: » FREE MAG DELIVERY » FREE DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTION Get 6 issues for only R154 (1 year) | 12 Issues for only R309 (2 years) Digital-only subscriptions are available. CONTACT US AND QUOTE 21/12/SP/PM HOWTO SUBSCRIBE: ONLINE hmshop.co.za (select POPULAR MECHANICS) EMAIL subscriptions@hsm.co.za CALL 087 550 0329 TERMS AND CONDITIONS: This offer is valid until 31 December 2021 and applies to print subscribers with a South African address only. By providing your personal details, you are giving POPULAR MECHANICS permission to communicate with you via email or SMS. For other great offers, visit hmshop.co.za. For foreign rates and queries, please contact Ramsay Media on 087 550 0329 or subscriptions@hsm.co.za.…

Master Lock Mini Safe: Keep your keys safe, without having to carry them with you. There’s space for access cards or a remote, and you can set your own combination. Master Lock Rod Lock: The 15 mm-wide metal body and 3 mmdiameter steel shackle and cable are highly resistant to tampering and cutting. Master Lock 4-Dial Combination Lock: The 6 mm-diameter and 26 mm-long shackle is made from cuttingand saw-resistant chrome-plated steel. Set your own combination. Master Lock Excell Discus Padlock: The Tough-Cut octagonal boroncarbide shackle is 50 per cent harder than normal hardened steel. Send your tips to popularmechanics@ramsaymedia.co.za with the subject line: ‘Do It Your Way’. Regrettably, only South African residents are eligible for the prize. Prizes not claimed within 60 days will be forfeited.…