Indholdsfortegnelse for May/June 2021 i Popular Mechanics

No matter what you’re building or fixing, professional-grade tools make a difference. Their purpose-built design adds power, durability, and efficiency, which makes them a wise investment. Even the toughest jobs get done faster and more precisely. Popular Mechanics Senior Home Editor Roy Berendsohn headed to the Pop Mech Test Zone in Easton, PA, to test the new FLEX series of power tools. Below are the four FLEX features that stood out—and what you should look for in your pro-grade purchase. SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE The higher a tool’s power-to-weight ratio, the better. The top-of-the-line FLEX ½” 2-Speed Drill-Driver and ¼” Quick Eject Hex Impact Driver with Multi-Mode have sensor-free brushless motors that boost performance, increasing torque in all situations. Engage the Drill-Driver’s Turbo Mode Speed 2 for a whopping 2,500 RPM and…

WE ALL KNOW THE SOUND: tschhhk followed by a fizzy hiss. It’s the sound of cracking open a crisp, cold beer. But there’s another, much less inviting sound you might have been unlucky enough to hear: the loud and definitive pop of an exploding beer can. This explosive phenomenon gained notoriety in 2018 when cans of craft beer, often made with fruit, were spontaneously erupting. As recently as this February, one craft operation voluntarily recalled one of its sour ales for the same reason. The good news is breweries go to great lengths to ensure that these bad batches are the exception, not the norm. Whether it’s beer, seltzer, or soda, as carbonated beverages warm up—from cold refrigeration to room temperature and beyond—the carbon dioxide becomes less soluble, leaving the liquid…

TAKE A GOOD LOOK AT THE PHOTOgraph on this page. NASA captured this image of a mysterious black object orbiting the Earth in 1998, during the first Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The space agency refers to the strange entity as item STS088-724-66 in its catalogue of space junk floating in low-Earth orbit (within 1,200 miles). Jerry Ross, an astronaut who took part in that mission, says that the object is a wayward thermal blanket that broke loose while his team tried to attach an American module to a Russian module on the ISS. But for a small, devoted following, it’s a 13,000-year-old, artificially made satellite known as the Black Knight. So, could this peculiar object really have come from ancient aliens? Or is it just…

Without February 29, the changing of the seasons would drift across the calendar year, thanks to our lap around the sun clocking 365.24 days. Because of that 0.24 days—or five hours 48 minutes and 46 seconds—a leap year must be skipped once every three out of four centuries. Though the years 1600 and 2000 were leap years, 1700, 1800, and 1900 were not, and 2100 won’t be one, either. The first leap year occurred in 45 BCE, at the behest of Julius Caesar and his establishment of the 12-month Julian calendar with a quadrennial leap day repeating February 23. Caesar’s calendar was still off by 11 minutes, which centuries later presented a problem for the Catholic Church as it threw off their Easter schedule. To fix this, the Gregorian calendar—our…

WHEN WE BEGANthis round of testing to find the best cordless string trimmers, we assembled them, charged their batteries, and adjusted their handles before pausing to admire their shiny surfaces. Only a few hours later, the machines were a mess—dirty and scratched from slashing grass and weeds. That describes the life of the string trimmer, a hard-working tool that doesn’t stay pretty for long. Consisting of a shaft with a motor on one end and a whirling propeller of plastic line on the other, it puts the finishing touches on a mowed landscape and scythes down tall grass and weeds. We focused on battery-powered models because they’re quiet and effective and have narrowed the lead once held by their gas-engine cousins. The six here run off of lithium-ion batteries, sources…

One of the advantages of pellet grills is how they regulate and maintain temperature. More expensive models do this with a digital proportional integral derivative (PID) controller. In the simplest terms, a PID employs a control loop that constantly calculates the difference between the set temperature and the current measured temperature, and then it applies a correction. Less expensive grills use a standard controller, with pre-set auger and fan speeds and intervals based on your target temperature. Models with these will deviate more from the set temperature. Manufacturers typically place heat sensors on the side of the grill closest to the controller, slightly above the grates. But that’s typically not where you’re cooking. And they can’t put it where you’re grilling or smoking because, well, that’s where you’re grilling or…

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With the proper packaging, highly carbonated beers don’t have to be dangerous. Belgian-style bottles that are made with thicker glass and deeper punts (the indent at the bottom of the bottle) can withstand greater pressure than regular bottles and aluminum cans. They’re similar to champagne bottles and have corks with metal cages to keep the tops from popping off. These more durable containers are ideal for fruited or especially active beers, and any styles that brewers want to referment through a method called bottle conditioning. “In bottle conditioning, the carbonation comes from a controlled refermentation that happens in the bottle,” Cascade Brewing’s Kevin Martin says. Brewers measure a beer’s sugar level in its finished state and add priming sugar at bottling to prompt refermentation that produces extra bubbles. Once the…

1 ORDOVICIANSILURIAN EXTINCTION: ~ 440 MILLION YEARS AGO Roughly 85 percent of all animal species on Earth die, thanks to an ice age that deprived the oceans of oxygen and flooded them with toxic metals. 2 DEVONIAN EXTINCTION: ~ 370 MILLION YEARS AGO Low-oxygen oceanic “dead zones,” volcanic eruptions, and a possible meteorite impact are thought to drive up to 80 percent of life on Earth to extinction. 3 PERMIANTRIASSIC EXTINCTION: ~ 250 MILLION YEARS AGO Earth’s “Great Dying” kills nearly 96 percent of marine life and 75 percent of land animals, courtesy of volcanic eruptions and global warming. 4 TRIASSICJURASSIC EXTINCTION: ~ 210 MILLION YEARS AGO Volcanic eruptions across Pangea fill the atmosphere with CO2, triggering a global warming that wipes out almost 80 percent of life on Earth.…

Let’s pretend for a moment that the Black Knight really does exist. How could it slip by unnoticed for 13,000 years? Gorman has a few ideas. The first: mimic one of the small pieces of space junk that are no larger than 10 centimeters in size—space organizations exercise more scrutiny over larger objects. “We’re going to assume that aliens have much more advanced technology than us, so something [that size] could be just as advanced as something the size of a house.” To avoid collisions with other scraps of space junk, aliens could develop miniaturized force field technology to keep their probe from getting hit, Gorman says. And thinking long-term, there’s the possibility that Earth could eventually have its own ring system—made up entirely of space junk in the “graveyard…

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 U.S. 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 skepticism toward authority and power. “We descended from primates that tended to notice dangerous, hidden things, like a predator in the grass,” says Michael Shermer, Ph.D., presidential fellow at Chapman University…

GARAGE / OUTDOOR / SMART HOME Solo Stove Bonfire / $260 As shiny as it is, this stainless-steel portable fire pit looks like it could be a component from the Falcon 9 space rocket. It sure ignites like it. Toss in some kindling and then a couple logs and you’ll have a roaring blaze in minutes. Internal venting pulls air in through the canister’s internals, pouring it on top of the flames to increase combustion, a process that also reduces smoke. The Bonfire is light enough to easily move around your porch, tote to ski areas for après tailgating, or maybe—laws of physics be damned—host the first campfire on Mars. SimpliSafe Essentials / $260 This repeat winner remains our choice for home security systems because it is easy to install…

WORK SHARP’S MK. 2 DELIVers appealing simplicity—it can take less than 10 minutes from unboxing to a sharpened edge, largely thanks to a precise and clear owner’s manual. The tool’s compact, two-speed electric motor gives it the capability to handle a wide range of dull edges. The abrasive belt’s low speed (at 2,300 rfpm) can sharpen most knives in a typical kitchen. The high speed (at 4,000 rfpm) has the power to bring most cutting tools back to life. The sharpener includes two adjustable, leather-lined guides that hold knives at the ideal angle—20 degrees for kitchen knives or 25 degrees for pocket knives. With a 220-grit belt, it can restore a dull steak knife in about 20 strokes on each side. But the Mk.2 isn’t limited to just the kitchen…

To evaluate the string trimmers you see here, we brought them to our laboratory, to call it that: a sand-floor drainage basin in southern New Jersey that measures 100 yards long and a couple hundred feet across. Its sloping bank is covered with weeds, wildflowers, and small trees (until we started on it). Above it is a lawn, consisting of perennial ryegrass and fescue, that runs along a concrete curb and creates a perfect line on which to test edging. The test was simple but demanding. Our primary goal was to assess power and run time, but we also wanted to see if each machine was comfortable and well balanced, and whether its line feed was finicky or robust. We charged and inserted each trimmer’s battery, waded into the worst…

Watch the complete MADE HERE video series on YouTube. MY GREAT-GRANDFATHER founded Victorinox in 1884. He chose his mother’s name, Victoria, for the company, adding “inox,” the stainless steel from which our knives are made, after its invention. In 1897, we patented the little red knife, the Schweizer Offiziers- und Sportmesser, which American soldiers shortened to “Swiss Army Knife.” Victorinox produces 45,000 Swiss Army Knives per day, with 100 percent recycled steel. The approximately 500 tons of grinding sludge that’s generated during manufacturing is recycled at the steel plant; the water in the sludge is absorbed; and the steel particles are pressed into briquettes. It’s fantastic to hear people share their adventures with their little red knife, like Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield. In his book, An Astronaut’s Guide to Life,…

MATT ALLYN Features Director My hand calluses are old enough to buy beer. My Favorite App Audible. While knocking out chores, I listen to classic novels I had avoided in school. Turns out Moby Dick is pretty funny. Reminiscing on My First Ride It was a ’65 Pontiac Tempest four-door, which I sold to buy a ’63 Pontiac Bonneville. Three months after rebuilding the 389 V-8, the transmission blew up. So I sold it for a mountain bike. I still miss that car. PRODUCTS I’M USING RIGHT NOW 1 Fresh Roast SR540 This miniature coffee roaster offers excellent temperature and air flow control with minimal smoke. 2 Flexispot Electric Height-Adjustable Standing Desk Best office upgrade—my sitting and standing heights rise and lower at the press of a button. 3 Google…

1972: THE DESTRUCTION OF THE DRAGON’S JAW During the Vietnam War, the U.S. spent years trying to destroy the “Dragon’s Jaw” bridge, expending hundreds of tons of bombs and losing 11 jets to anti-aircraft fire. Finally, in May 1972, 14 Air Force F-4Cs put the bridge out of action with Paveway bombs, which homed in on laser energy that another aircraft pointed at the bridge. 1991: OPERATION DESERT STORM The U.S. used its next-gen Paveway III laser-guided bombs to attack the Iraqi military from low level and hit a target within 10 feet of the laser-aiming point. The F-117A stealth fighter destroyed targets in Baghdad with Paveways, while F-15E, F-111, and A-6 bombers smashed airfields, bunkers, tanks, and other Iraqi targets. 2014: THE FIRST LASER WEAPON GOES TO SEA Lasers…

Modern conspiracy theories like 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 seem not to rely on…

There are at least three observable sinkholes on Oak Island, and the area’s geography suggests it is susceptible to these natural hazards. The island’s subsurface is made up of soluble limestone anhydrite and gypsum rock, and the water table starts only a few meters below the surface, according to geologist Gordon Fader. On Oak Island, sinkholes form primarily through a process called dissolution. During dissolution, water permeates and erodes soluble minerals in the subsurface rock to create a Swiss cheese–like series of underground cracks, pathways, and chambers (fig. 1). These holes and cracks expand over time, propagating upward toward the topsoil (fig. 2). Finally, when the weight of the topsoil is too much for the weakened subsurface soil to bear, the surface collapses (fig. 3). “It’s the same as if…