How It Works issue 40 free preview!

This month How It Works delivers a bounty of awesome articles and fantastic features including:

Extreme weather – A turbulent and a dangerous planet, Earth has experienced some serious environmental extremes in the form of highly charged electricity, deadly winds and catastrophic precipitation.

Aluminium – How It Works reveals how this metal is extracted from the ground and turned into all the everyday items we perhaps take for granted.

20 amazing star facts – With the help of stellar author Giles Sparrow, learn the answers to your most burning star questions in this issue’s big Space feature.

The Internet explained – What engineering technologies lie at the heart of the most significant invention of the 20th century?

Next-gen car tech – Discover what is now possible behind the wheel of even the everyday runaround.

The Forbidden City – Explore one of the most incredible complexes in the world where China’s rulers lived for centuries.

How It Works issue 40 is on sale from 1 Novemeber 2012 and is available from WHSmiths, Barnes & Noble, supermarkets and all good newsagents.