Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2013 i Popular Mechanics

Our January cover feature, "In the Digital Crosshairs," told the story of 16-year-old Tyler Yagerhofer, whose home was raided by police when a hacker called 911 and claimed a crime was occurring at the Yagerhofer address. Reader Sam Veith of Swarthmore, Penn., lives near where the incident occurred. "News helicopters circled overhead and dozens of government agents invaded the area," he wrote. "I felt incredibly violated as well. What's to stop this from happening to you?" Reader John Ruckman of Yreka, Calif., found the article interesting but lacking. "I would like to see a more comprehensive article on how to fight back," he wrote. Thanks for the suggestion, John. Look for a story in our next issue on protecting your identity online. ? Our Web story touting wood-burning stoves as…

TEST DRIVES TOP TECH HOT RIDES RUDOLF DIESEL'S ENGINE IS SET FOR A COMEBACK 100 YEARS AFTER HIS DEATH. As consumers clamor for cars with higher mpg numbers and with rigorous new federal fuel-economy standards on the horizon, carmakers are exploring all their options. This has largely meant improving the gasoline internal combustion engine's efficiency and offering a few hybrid and electric vehicles. Conspicuously absent from many lineups in the U.S., however, have been vehicles with diesel powerplants. And understandably so: The Ameri can public has been reluctant to embrace diesels ever since General Motors and other automakers sold noisy, dirty, and unreliable versions back in the '80s. But modern diesel systems are clean, powerful, and fuel-efficient. Recent diesel options in the U.S. have largely been limited to luxury European…

THE WORLD NEEDS ENERGY, AND AMERICA'S ARCTIC WATERS MAY HOLD 25 BILLION BARRELS OF OIL. BUT THE RECENT GROUNDING OF SHELL'S KULLUK OIL RIG HAS SHARPENED A DEBATE OVER THE SAFETY OF OFFSHORE DRILLING. POPULAR MECHANICS VISITED THE KULLUK DURING ITS ARCTIC OPERATIONS FOR THIS EXCLUSIVE REPORT. In October 2012, Shell's Kulluk oil rig was at work off the north coast of Alaska. The U.S., Russia, and other Arctic nations may have vast offshore oil and gas reserves. Two days after Christmas, a pair of vessels labored through heavy seas in the Gulf of Alaska. In the lead was the Aiviq, a $200 million tow ship with four 5444-hp engines. A thick line connected that ship to the Kulluk, a floating oil rig that wallowed behind. Owned by Royal Dutch…

At Boston's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, the machine is going back for seconds. Its next target is a tumor, buried in that same woman's kidney. So the bot remains perched, its arms fanned out over her like some great, hulking insect. Those arms twitch and wriggle, and inside the sleeping woman's abdomen its tiny, dexterous manipulators slice and burn through fatty connective tissue, maneuvering around veins, arteries, and nerves, clearing a path to the cancer with a level of precision no human could ever hope to muster. The robot, called the da Vinci Si Surgical System, isn't performing a partial nephrectomy under its own volition. It is being controlled by two human surgeons seated at a pair of consoles in a corner of the OR. They take turns commanding…

TECH      • SWITCHING PHONES      • PARTITIONING DRIVES      • PRINTING IN GOOGLE CHROME As yet, there is still no technological substitute for human willpower. But in the quest to get in shape, we flabby citizens have a long history of leaning on gadgets to get us up and active. The first pedometer design is attributed to Leo nardo da Vinci, while Thomas Jefferson built his own such device to measure his walks. Since then vibrating belts, electric shocks, and sweaty sauna suits have been touted as high-tech routes to fitness. And in the 1980s, a former Viet Cong sympathizer leveraged the popularity of the VHS to turn herself into a domestic exercise icon with a series of workout tapes. Believe it or not, Jane Fonda is still at it, finally upgrading…

     • RIGHT-ANGLE GRINDERS      • FASTENING THROUGH TILE      • CONTROLLING RUNOFF Crown molding can bring elegance and harmony to any underwhelming or oddly shaped room. Adding molding with a multilayered profile like the one featured here can really make a bold, distinctive statement. The project may look intimidating, but it's actually not. If you're comfortable installing a simple baseboard, you should have no problem handling this major interior upgrade. The trick is combining two sets of identical baseboard and a sprung crown molding to create a complex design. The three components not only break the project into manageable steps, but also help you work around irregular sur faces. Plus, the baseboard moldings provide backing for the sprung crown, making the most challenging part of the project a snap. Two elements of…

1590: Are you smarter than a fifth-grader? Zacharias Janssen, a Dutch 10-year-old, is said to create the first compound microscope using multiple lenses in a tube. (We're guessing his father, Hans, an eyeglass manufacturer, helped.) 1609: Galileo calls his compound microscope with a concave and a convex lens the occhiolino, or little eye. The magnifying device is a gateway drug—he soon starts experimenting with telescopes. 1625: Giovanni Faber, a papal doctor from Germany and one of Galileo's bros from the Accademia dei Lincei, coins the term microscope. It rolls off the tongue more easily than occhiolino. 1665: English scientist Robert Hooke cells out when he authors the first scientific best seller, Micrographia, the earliest account of cell theory. 1676: Antonie van Leeuwenhoek observes single-celled organisms and other tiny phenomena through…

Bun Reseachers in Iran demonstrated in late 2012 that a computer-vision system can predict how crusty bread will be. Bread's texture depends on moisture loss, air velocity, oven temperature, and bake time. A talented baker could adjust these variables to produce the perfect hamburger bun. Meat It's tempting for meat producers to cut costs by adding offal or pork, among other things, to ground beef. Scientists in Ireland and Egypt have figured out how to use near-infrared spectroscopy—studying chemical bonds' vibrations to identify which molecules are present—to verify if adulterated meat is on market shelves. Lettuce It doesn't take much exposure for lettuce to turn brown as it succumbs to the enzymes that are released when it's torn or cut. But blasting it with high-intensity light cuts down on the…

CUE THE EXPLOSIONS, STUNTS, AND COOL FX! PM SALUTES THE YEAR'S BEST SCI-TECH FILMS. Since the days of Thomas Edison, POPULAR MECHANICS has covered the technology of motion pictures, from hand-cranked cameras to wide-screen Technicolor to immersive 3D. In our first annual roundup of the year's best sci-tech movies, we continue that century-old heritage by honoring the outstanding achievements of the technical talents whose often- underappreciated brilliance enables directors to work their transformative magic—special-effects wizards, CGI and makeup artists, animators, model-makers, and stunt coordinators. A panel of experts worked with PM to define the categories and select winners who dazzled film lovers this year with rooftop chases, paranormal mayhem, alternate universes, and unknown pockets of the one we inhabit. So here, without further ado, our first 10 winners of the…

Fred Mackerodt, a longtime contributor and friend to POPULAR MECHANICS, needed a shed—nothing monumental or elaborate, just a basic structure to house his tallest outdoor gear, such as rakes, ladders, and pole saws. Well, there was more to it than that. This shed would live among the historic barns and stables scattered throughout Fred's farm, a 260-acre property of rolling hills, horse pastures, and cedar woodlands located 2 hours north of New York City. Fred wanted something durable and attractive that would complement his property, not just a flimsy shack for corralling garden tools. Given the fact that I had spent the previous few months either tethered to a desk or remodeling the finicky interior of a Brooklyn brownstone, I was eager to start something comparatively chunky and forgiving. So…

     • SEIZING BRAKES      • MISMATCHED TIRES      • TIMING BELT CARE DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY SLATHERING PINK GOO ON YOUR CAR MAY SEEM LIKE VANDALISM, BUT IT'S GREAT FOR HIDING DINGS. Let's get this out of the way right off the bat: Nobody wants to use body filler—it's not a flawless fix. But often, perfect is the enemy of the good. Dinged sheet metal can be repaired with specialized welded-on studs and a slide hammer, but that's beyond the skill and tool budget of most folks. Body filler is the next best thing and has been used by shops for decades. It's an effective way for home mechanics to address dings and minor, incidental damage. More serious damage should be addressed by replacing the panel, but cleaning up dents is a fun…

There are some things you'll have to say goodbye to when switching smartphone operating systems—namely, most of the apps you paid good money for. But the good news is that many of the services we use our phones for—like email, Facebook, and other social networking platforms—actually store your data in the cloud. You'll also be able to transfer a lot of your other data from the cloud. Email accounts, for instance, are very easy. Just set up an account on your new phone; regardless of what service you use, your messages should automatically appear. Movies and music are also straightforward. Simply locate the files on your computer, and, if they are going to an Android phone, drag them to the phone when it's plugged into the computer. If the files…

I can't imagine there's a better first instrument for a kid than a ukulele. With its lilliputian body and only four nylon strings that tune to "My Dog Has Fleas," the humble uke just begs to be rocked by kindergartners like my daughter, Marigold. While I dream of her one day strumming "Aloha 'Oe" on the beloved Kamaka soprano ukulele I inherited from my maternal grandmother, I decided it might be fun for us to build a starter ax that is even easier to play (and less precious, you know, in case Goldie were to drop it). DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY 7/10 AGES: 6+ BUILD TIME: 3 HOURS PARTS COST: ABOUT $25 Materials      • One 50-ounce laundry- detergent bottle, emptied, cleaned, and capless      • One 24-inch length of 1⅝ x ⅝–inch…

WINDOW STICKER The best way to clean windows is to have the job done for you. The Winbot 7 Series ($TBA) by Ecovacs clings to a pane via vacuum suction, zigzagging and buffing away blemishes. Sure, there are limitations. It's impractical for small windows, it requires the user to spritz cleaner on a removable pad, and it's hard-wired. Still, the Winbot is one step closer to a fully autonomous domestic helper (Ecovacs has one in the works), and it's the best thing to happen to glass houses since Philip Johnson. —JENNINGS BROWN We discovered Winbot in January at the ultimate gadget fest, the 2013 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Turn the page for more from CES. 2013 DIGITAL PREVIEW PopMech's tech editors stormed the sprawl of display booths…

Take the 1962 Daimler SP250 I'm currently restoring. The original owner, a man named William Brzozowski, lived in Baltimore and never garaged the car. It sat outside in the snow and the rain for 40 years. Bob Brzozowski, William's nephew, inherited the car when his uncle died. He wanted to restore it but didn't have the room at his place in upstate New York, or the money. He contacted me, we talked a lot, and I offered a very fair price, considering that the car hadn't run in 10 years and would need pretty much everything. Buying a vehicle sight unseen is a cardinal sin for car enthusiasts, so you can consider me the president of the More Money Than Brains Car Club. But this SP250 intrigued me: It had…

KOUROU, FRENCH GUIANA—On a viewing platform 3 miles away from the launchpad, Clay Mowry can see the flash of fire and plume of smoke under Ariane 5 before he hears the boom of its ignition. But when the sound waves arrive, they more than rumble air around Mowry's ears—they vibrate his internal organs. The 165-foot-tall rocket parts the air in front of its tip with a violent ripping sound; a setting sun gives its billowing trail of smoke a lustrous orange fringe. Mowry, president of the U.S. subsidiary of the European launch company Arianespace, cranes his head to watch the rocket soar from this equatorial spaceport, located on the northeastern coast of South America. But his attention is divided between the rocket and his cus tomer, communications mogul Charlie Ergen.…

The brakes on my Mercury Grand Marquis are behaving badly. They're fine for about 2 miles, then they get sticky. I feel the brakes grab when I'm not pressing them, and they sort of drag the car to a stop. The farther I drive, the worse it gets. Eventually the car won't move because the brakes are locked up, hot, and steaming. If I let the car cool, it'll drive for another couple of miles. What's going on? FLUID LEVEL SENSOR FILLER CAP MASTER CYLINDER SEALS FLUID RESERVOIR FORCE FROM THE BRAKE PEDAL PRIMARY PISTON ASSEMBLY SECONDARY PISTON ASSEMBLY Clearly, you shouldn't be driving this car in traffic until the problem is fixed. In cases like this it pays to be very systematic about diagnosing the cause and testing any…

Even if you know the story of Drs. James Watson and Francis Crick—who in 1953 co-discovered deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) molecules and later received the Nobel Prize for their work—the building blocks of all living organisms remain mysterious. Packed into the nuclei of cells in strands called chromosomes, pure DNA is seen and handled by few except scientists. Well, here's your chance. This classic experiment draws the substance from strawberries, whose cells carry eight copies of each chromosome, four times the number found in human cells. First you'll physically crack open the fruit's cell walls and then use chemical processes to let the DNA escape. Because any cell's membrane is fatty, it dissolves in liquid soap and frees the DNA. Adding salt to the medium makes the chromosomes precipitate, or solidify,…

The gold standard for hanging something on a tile wall is to catch a stud with each mounting screw. Now, the voice of reality: If only it were that easy. The fact is you almost always have to use a hollow wall anchor with these installations. Bathrooms are relatively small spaces, and there's not much leeway for positioning a shelf, wall cabinet, or towel bar. You have to put these items in a practical location and where they look best. By the way, we're not talking about mounting objects to walls that see constant water exposure. You risk creating a leak through the wall. And though some hollow wall fasteners are rated for grab-bar installation, your best bet there is to mount to a stud or solid-wood blocking mounted between…