Popular Mechanics South Africa

The South African edition of Popular Mechanics was launched in 2002 and has fast become the acknowledged voice of science and technology in South Africa. Underpinning its rich sci-tech content is an ever-changing mix of articles covering everything from automotive news and outdoor adventures to DIY projects. In essence, it explains how our world works

IDEAS TAKING FLIGHT

Popular Mechanics South Africa

IS EVERYWHERE

Dig a square hole

UPDATE YOUR DIARY • THIS DAY IN HISTORY

TIME MACHINE • It made per fect sense at the time

THE BIGGER PICTURE

The world’s largest wheeled electric vehicle is a dump truck

How regenerative braking works

Causality loops and Terminator’s 35-year struggle to make time travel convincing

An accurate time-travel movie: Planet of the Apes (1968)

WE ALREADY KNOW HOW TO BUILD A TIME MACHINE

After 65 years, supercomputers finally solve this unsolvable maths problem

Computer x mathematics timeline

HOW TO MAKE LUMP CHARCOAL

Zinc: superhero of the metal world

The wild idea that the Titanic never really sank

What to do if your ship sinks • Life vests save lives, but what else do you need if your boat goes down? This is what US Coast Guard Petty Officer Brian McCrum advises.

Your body is a wonderland • It’s more than just a machine and, according to Bill Bryson, it’s time to become captivated, enchanted even, by your own body.

It’s time to switch to indie

WHY I’M BUILDING MY OWN AEROPLANE

INSIDE MIKE’S KIT

FOUR GREAT KIT PLANES TO TACKLE

SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE UPTO 50%

Wild food The sustainable choice • Invasive species are taking over… But what if we could eat our way out of this ecological mess?

THE RED LIST

COSMOPOLITAN WEEDS

VELD AND SEA

WATCH THIS: INTO THE WILD

INSIDE THE TORTURE CHAMBER • How Gore’s research lab puts the world’s most technical clothing to the test.

GEAR & GADGETS • Must-have hardware for humans on the go

Injured athletes lost what they loved. These boards bring it back.

Anatomy of a waveski

How to make the ULTIMATE BURGER

THE SCIENCE OF THE PERFECT BURGER • Here’s how to optimise taste and texture to elevate any burger, according to Chef Daniel Wilson, author of The Burger Lab: The Art and Science of the Perfect Burger and founder of the Australian burger chain Huxtaburger:

10 HACKS EVERY GRILL-MEISTER SHOULD MASTER

Trust us, infusing whisky is delicious

MAKE A PAIR OF TRADITIONAL ROUBO TRY SQUARES • Many of us are experiencing a period of self-reinvention, so what better time is there to begin a challenging woodworking project? In part two of our tool-building series, we guide you through the steps of creating two wooden try squares.

PROJECT 2: A PAIR OF TRADITIONAL WOODEN ROUBO TRY SQUARES

PROCESS

Jeep • Opinions on cars we’ve driven

Toyota

SIM RACING ON THE RISE • South African racing driver David Perel is also a sim-racer extraordinaire. With this form of racing’s meteoric rise, in the time of COVID-19, PM managed to catch up with him to ask where the world of virtual motor racing is headed.

SIM-RACING BENEFITS

SIM RACING… WHAT DO YOU NEED?

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Clever tips and lifehacks

WIN WITH MASTER LOCK • Write to us with your tip and you could win a prize from Master Lock. This issue’s top contribution has won: