How It Works

“A pendulum can absorb an earthquake’s kinetic energy and reduce a building’s movement” The really ‘big one’ is the subject of legendary author Arthur C. Clarke’s novel Richter 10: a future earthquake that’s predicted to be so powerful it will split California from the rest of the United States, right down the San Andreas fault. The solution? To insert nuclear bombs deep into the crust at key places along the fault line, detonating them in the hope that they will fuse the tectonic plates together. This is a far-fetched idea that has its place in science fiction, though real-world earthquake defences are far more practical – if a lot less sensational. In this issue of How It Works, we delve into the science of earthquake prediction and detection, the terrifying…

Mind-boggling roads In 2017, a multi-level, 20-road flyover opened to the public in Chongqing, China. Known as the Huangjuewan interchange, this labyrinth of lanes was built to connect Chongqing’s airport with the city and two intersecting expressways. The flyover comprises 15 ramps over five levels, the highest of which is around 37 metres above ground. All in all, there are more than ten miles of road making up the interchange. Swallowed whole This egg-eating snake is one of 18 species that belong to the genus Dasypeltis, found in Africa. They feed exclusively on bird eggs and devour them whole. Once a snake has gotten its jaws around an egg, it crushes it to extract the contents. This is done by vertical spines along the serpent’s vertebrae, which extend into its…

ARCHAEOLOGY 500,000-year-old treasure trove of fossils discovered in a sinkhole WORDS TOM HOWARTH Fossil collectors have discovered a prehistoric graveyard buried in Florida’s Steinhatchee River. The site has yielded a remarkable collection of more than 500 fossils dating back roughly half a million years. It was full of exceptionally well-preserved bones from ancient mammals, including horses, giant armadillos, sloths and possibly a new species of tapir. Around 500,000 years ago, before the river flowed over the site, a sinkhole opened up in Florida’s Big Bend region and became a death trap for hundreds of animals. Sediment filled in the sinkhole over time, entombing their remains in near-pristine condition. These fossils remained hidden until 2022, when fossil collectors Robert Sinibaldi and Joseph Branin stumbled upon them during a routine diving expedition…

PELOTON TREAD £3,345 / $2,995 ONEPELOTON.COM The Peloton Tread is a treadmill with all the bells and whistles: from built-in workout metrics monitoring and automatic incline controls to a 28-inch full HD touchscreen, this treadmill packs in all the features you could ever need for an at-home run. Tread also gives you the opportunity to join Peloton’s ‘all-access membership’ for an additional subscription fee, which gives you access to live or on-demand fitness classes that allow you to work out alongside other subscribers and stream live sports, movies and TV through Peloton Entertainment. BOSE ULTRA OPEN EARBUDS £299.95 / $299 BOSE.CO.UK Bose’s Ultra Open Earbuds are cuff-shaped for all-day comfort while you work out and go about your day. Using the ‘auto volume’ mode, these earbuds will adjust the volume…

With the power to topple towers and bring entire cities to their knees, earthquakes are one of the most destructive forces in nature. To understand why the ground shakes, you must first look at Earth’s outermost layer, the crust. Also known as the lithosphere, the crust is a 25-mile-thick layer of solid rock that’s split up into 15 tectonic plates that fit together in one Earth-sized jigsaw puzzle. However, the plates aren’t static and are continually on the move. Driven by heat emanating from Earth’s centre, the plates, along with everything on top of them, move at around 1.5 centimetres each year. But where are they moving to? At the boundary where two plates meet, one will subduct under the other. The heat and pressure generated by the collision cause…

DID YOU KNOW? NASA runs numerous citizen science projects on topics ranging from Martian clouds to gamma-ray bursts BLACK HOLE FINDER blackholefinder.org For many people, black holes are the most exciting of all astronomical phenomena. These super-dense concentrations of matter have gravitational fields so powerful that they distort the very space around them. Sadly, though, they’re far too elusive to be visible to amateur astronomers, and even the most professional observatories struggle to detect them. But now there’s an app you can install on your smartphone or tablet that really can help astronomers find brand-new black holes. It’s called Black Hole Finder and was developed by the Dutch Black Hole Consortium as a ‘citizen science’ project. These encourage people to participate in cutting-edge science by helping sift through large amounts…