The invention of the first handheld mobile phone is credited to Dr Martin Cooper and his team at Motorola in April 1973. The first call he made was to his rival inventor, Joel Engel at Bell Laboratories, who had also been racing to invent the first mobile phone. Before this time, radiophones on-board ships and in cars were available, however Dr Cooper’s phone was the first truly handheld modern mobile phone. It weighed in at around two kilograms and had a battery life of only 20 minutes. According to Cooper, this didn’t matter as you couldn’t really hold the phone up for that long!

On board an aircraft carrier

Our article on how to take off and land on an aircraft carrier back in issue 5 was so popular we’ve gone a step further to bring you an insight to life on board the magnificent Nimitz Class carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. Discover what happens on this floating island – from the nuclear power at its heart to the aircraft stowed in the hangars and on the flightdeck.

Titan – the wonder of Saturn’s largest moon revealed

We take a look at the fascinating Titan and learn about the unusual activity that takes place on and below the surface of this, the most Earth-like of all the bodies in our solar system. A real eye-opener, this article explains the mystical methane rain that falls slowly through Titan’s dense atmosphere.

iPhone 4

Our cover feature comes complete with all you need to know about Apple’s latest smartphone. Read on to discover just what this anticipated update is capable of and follow our step-by-step guide to making your first FaceTime video call. We explain iOS4, the three-axis gyroscope and the A4 chip plus much more. And of course, all the gory insides are dissected for your viewing pleasure.

Cleaning up an oil spill

The headline-dominating disaster in the Gulf of Mexico has captured the attention of the world, and the grave situation has affected both the environment and the economy. Discover what is being done to seal the leak and clean up the mess in this feature that explores the techniques for ridding the world’s oceans of slicked oil.

Megastructures

Your jaw will drop when you consider the mammoth feats of engineering behind Earth’s biggest man-made structures. Learn how the longest bridge in the world was constructed, find out how the longest ever road tunnel beat the world record by seven kilometers, discover the pendulum swinging at the heart of the famous Taipai 101 skyscraper, plus loads more unbelievable megastructure facts.

King of the swingers

This bumper guide to our closest relatives reveals the lives and anatomy of the highly specialised and highly intelligent primates. See what happens when a group of chimps gives chase, learn about their amazing gripping hands and prehensile tails, and find out what is putting these incredible creatures at risk.

PLUS: today’s cutting-edge car technology, hangovers, baggage handling, adrenaline, in-flight refuelling, air bags, Facebook’s new privacy settings, blood vessels, the T-34 tank, mammoths, ion engines, dry cleaning, the Mars 500 mission, the Mavizen TTX02 electric superbike, air conditioning, IMAX cinemas, power drills, tree rings, starfish anatomy, the history of duelling, amphibian skin, beehives, Leyden jars, heatwaves, and much more besides.

Look out for How It Works issue 10 when it hits the shops 15 July – earlier if you’re a subscriber. And don’t forget, if you can’t get to the shops, you can also download the awesome PixelMag on your shiny new iPad, or your old iPhone or iPod touch. Just visit the Apple App Store and search for How It Works, then download any issue for just £1.79. Check it out today!

The Solar Impulse, an experimental aircraft that is powered solely from sunlight, has made its first ever 24-hour flight. Pilot André Borschberg eased the Solar Impulse aircraft on to the runway at Payerne airfield, about 31 miles south-west of the Swiss capital, Berne, at 9am local time today. The news comes as welcome relief for the dedicated team who have worked on the Impulse for over seven years and who recently had to delay the launch due to a malfunctioning part that needed to be replaced. It also brings the team one step closer to their ultimate goal of encircling the Earth purely by solar power.

For more information on the Solar Impulse refer to issue 7 of How It Works.

Images courtesy of syncardia.com

Don’t miss issue 9, which is packed full of articles to really feed your brain. Kicking off is an exhilarating four-pager on roller coasters and the science of thrills, and if you’re trying to decide between iPhone and Android, we’ve put them head to head in a useful buyer’s guide centred on how they work. Another close-to-home feature looks at superfast broadband and how new technology is capable of providing faster, more efficient internet services. An excellent feature on the nervous system reveals what keeps our bodies functioning and communicating properly, but if that doesn’t get your synapses firing we have another biology article that explains what heart bypass surgery entails. A mighty four-page article explaining the nature of explosives will keep you hooked while a hot and steamy spread on geysers will enlighten you on these spectacular geological features. Never get caught short during an avalanche as we explain what they are and how to survive them. If you want to learn how the most deadly chopper in the world works, check out our teardown of the Apache Longbow. Meanwhile, for information on the engineers attempting to break the land speed record take a look at our article on the race to 1,000mph. In space, we have a complete guide to Mercury, a look inside Jupiter’s moon Io, details about the Cassini-Huygens mission and how that’s working, plus a huge feature exploring our search for new Earth-like planets in the galaxy. Discover how the Greeks took to the seas and did battle in huge warships called Triremes, find out why the Tower of Pisa leans and how the west was won in our Wild West weapons article as well as a look at how the Battle of Britain was fought.

We also answer questions such as why can crocodiles snap their mouths so powerfully but not open them with the same force, how does bulletproof glass work, how do placebos work, what are allergies, how do hummingbirds beat their wings up to 80 times a second, how is it possible to rain frogs, how do volcanoes work, what is a Wankel engine, and what are solar flares?

So don’t miss out, get your copy of How It Works issue 9, available in all good newsagents and supermarkets. And if you want to enjoy the magazine on your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch, simply visit the Apple App Store and search for How It Works, then download it for just £1.79. Check it out today!

Superfast broadband

So, we all rely on broadband for our insatiable internet habits, and as with many things in life, we’re also demanding a faster, more efficient service. In this month’s cover feature you’ll learn how broadband speeds are being maximised. You can also find out what superfast broadband can be used for, and with the help of some very snazzy infographics discover the cities currently enjoying the fastest services around the world.

Human nervous system

Another electrifying human science article this issue comes in the form of a complete guide to the human nervous system. The feature reveals the nature of our bodies’ built-in autopilot functions, as well as the anatomy of a nerve and the reason behind why our arm tingles if we knock our funny bone.

Volcanic eruptions

Thousands of air passengers around the world were left stranded or unable to travel due to the ash from an Icelandic volcano. Discover the amazing geography of these sleeping geological giants in our massive volcanoes feature.

The world’s deadliest chopper

Take a look inside the AH-64D Apache Longbow, the next generation of multi-mission attack helicopter that’s changing the face of modern warfare. We dissect the vehicle and explain its components in true How It Works style.

The race to 1,000mph

Three teams of world-class engineers from different corners of the globe – Great Britain, the United States and Australia – are all trying to smash the 1,000mph barrier and break the land speed record with their superfast rocket cars. We get under the hood of each vehicle and discover exactly how they will achieve their high-speed dreams.

Searching for new Earths

Focusing far beyond the solar system, this space special takes a look at how we’re searching for Earth-like planets capable of supporting human life. Discover the incredible techniques space agencies are employing to find extrasolar bodies, as well as info on where we’re focusing our search, not to mention the exciting results of recent missions.

There’s oodles more great stuff to discover this issue, including how the Battle of Britain was fought, why hummingbirds can beat their wings so quickly, the causes allergies, how a heart bypass could save your life, what a spark plug does exactly, an explanation of solar flares, why the Tower of Pisa leans, the difference between fog, mist and haze, what’s inside a worm, the reason crocodiles can snap their jaws shut with great power but can’t open them with the same force, causes of avalanches, a complete guide to the planet Mercury, inside a Greek warship and so much more great stuff that we simply can’t be bothered to list.

Look out for How It Works issue 9 when it hits the shops this Thursday, 17 June – earlier if you’re a subscriber. And don’t forget, if you can’t get to the shops, you can also download the awesome PixelMag on your shiny new iPad, or your old iPhone or iPod Touch. Just visit the Apple App Store and search for How It Works, then download any issue for just £1.79. Check it out today!

To celebrate the landing of thousands upon thousands of iPads in the UK, Europe and Canada from today onwards, iCreate magazine will be posting some essential tutorials to get you up and running with your new device. They will be tweeting about the posts using #iPadWeek, so feel free to tweet your own tips and tricks for the device using the same tag. The iCreate team will pick the best iPad tip this week and send the winner an iPad case!

If you didn’t pre-order an iPad and are planning to get one from an Apple Store in the UK this weekend, you’ll have to be quick. iCreate has heard on the grapevine that each store will only be holding 70 iPads, and that not all resellers will stock them. So, be quick or be sorry. The first tutorial will be out shortly on iCreateMagazine.com…

From the performance-enhancing technology of the World Cup to the most unashamed luxury available on the planet’s most expensive mega yachts, this issue will keep you distracted long after you were supposed to get back to work. But don’t feel guilty; read on and feed your brain with fascinating facts on the wonder of twins, exploring below the surface of the oceans, creating the real Iron Man and the technologies capable of augmenting human abilities, surviving Mount Everest, how the Dyson bladeless fan works, the projects of the European Space Agency, Petra the city built into the rock, the first commercial jet pack, and much more. You can also get to know Simon Reeve in this month’s Global Eye interview. His Tropic Of Cancer TV series has been wowing audiences as he embraces some of the planet’s least-visited locations, mixing spectacular travel destinations with eye-opening current affairs.

An issue not to be missed.

So don’t miss out, get your copy of How It Works issue 8, available in all good newsagents and supermarkets. And if you want to enjoy the magazine on your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch, simply visit the Apple App Store and search for How It Works, then download it for just £1.79. Check it out today!

This type of slow motion effect is achieved when each film frame is captured at a rate much faster than it will be played back, so when replayed at normal speed, time appears to be moving more slowly. The technical term for slow motion is overcranking which refers to the concept of cranking a handcranked camera at a faster rate than normal (ie faster than 24 frames per second).

For more information on Air Multiplier technology and Dyson’s new bladeless fan, check out the latest issue of How It Works magazine.