How It Works

Welcome to How It Works, the magazine that explains everything you never knew you wanted to know about the world we live in. Loaded with fully illustrated guides and expert knowledge, and with sections dedicated to science, technology, transportation, space, history and the environment, no subject is too big or small for How It Works to explain.

WELCOME • Issue 205

Global eye

GLOBAL EYE • Showcasing the incredible world we live in

WISH LIST • STARGAZING TECH

20 amazing answers to curious QUESTIONS about the COSMOS • THE UNIVERSE IS FULL OF MYSTERIOUS PHENOMENA AND INCREDIBLE OBJECTS, AND WE’RE LEARNING MORE ABOUT THEM EVERY DAY

Tour guide to the MOON • Your dusty, distant destination awaits, with unique geology that reveals billions of years of cosmic collisions

ANCIENT ANIMAL SURVIVAL SECRETS • Discover the remarkable resilience of Earth’s oldest and hardiest animals, overcoming mass extinctions and conquering the planet’s ever-changing climate

A NEW ERA OF NUCLEAR WARFARE • How the top-secret Manhattan Project saw the invention of the atomic bomb, which culminated in the end of one war and the beginning of another

WHERE ARE YOU? WHAT’S THE TIME? • How the world’s clocks and geographic coordinates came to be set by a small borough of London

JOHN FLAMSTEED • The first Astronomer Royal plotted out the constellations and mapped the heavens

HOW TO MAKE A VIDEO GAME • Have you ever wondered how video games go from an idea to a product on a digital or physical shelf? Let’s explore each step in the process

SMART SURVEILLANCE • How smart CCTV uses data to scan and analyse a scene, identifying objects and people in milliseconds

HOW OPTICIANS TEST YOUR EYES • The modern machines and techniques that can transform blurred vision into 20:20 clarity

WHAT IS GLUTEN? • Discover how this viscous and elastic protein forms, where to find it and why some people can’t eat it

WHY ARE BUBBLES ROUND? • How surface tension plays a big role in keeping soap bubbles spherical

INSIDE THE MIND OF A GENIUS • What’s going on inside the brains of those with truly exceptional mental abilities, and why are they so intelligent? Genetic analysis and Einstein’s brain are providing us with some answers

HOW PLANES LAND ON WATER • Who needs a runway when there’s so much water around?

BRAINDUMP • Amazing answers to your curious questions

THE LIBRARY • The latest book releases for curious minds

BRAIN GYM • Give your brain a puzzle workout

HOW TO… • Practical projects to try at home

INBOX • Speak your mind

How It Works

FAST FACTS • Amazing trivia that will blow your mind