William Harris has written over 100 articles for HowStuffWorks on topics ranging from who invented the computer to how gold works.
Recent Contributions
Scientists say that as of May 2007,. more people now live in urban than in rural areas. So how do planners make cities work for all those people?
Firearms get the historical spotlight, but what about the projectiles they hurl at insane speeds? Here are the innovations that gave rise to modern ammunition. Think of it as 10 rounds of ammo info.
GPS is great, but it's kind of Earth-centric. If we have our hearts set on traveling to distant planets and faraway stars, then it's time to come up with a new navigation system. NASA, of course, has an idea.
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You're talking with a group of people when, with no apparent warning, everyone stops talking. Is it just an awkward silence or a pregnant pause? Or is this silence something more?
Ever wonder how flat cell phone keys vibrate to let you know you've pressed a button? It's called haptics, and you can use it for lots more than just phones.
By William Harris & Zach Taras
Astrolabes are exquisitely crafted instruments that have hundreds of uses. Isn't it time you learned how to use this handy decoder of the sky?
We know your digital life is important to you — all those apps, files, photos, and music. But here's the 50-million-dollar question: Is a solid-state drive (SSD) or a hard disk drive (HDD) the right technology for the job? What is an SSD, exactly? Read on to find out!
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In the world of flight, it's a fine line between flying high and falling fast. Can you name 10 of the innovations that keep planes and their passengers airborne?
Gasification could represent a second chance for coal. Will this old technology, which can run on coal or biomass, get a new life as one of the most important energy alternatives of the future?
Have you always thought of yourself as more of a Jean-Pierre than a Jon? Good news, you can still be that guy, provided you're willing to fight for France for five years.
We've been observing and experimenting in the name of science for centuries. But who deserves the honor of being humanity's very first scientist? Is it Euclid, Darwin, Galileo or someone else?
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Bend but don't break: That's the idea behind many of these temblor-thwarting technologies. They may even allow a building's inhabitants to walk out unharmed and start picking up the pieces after the earthquake subsides.
The list of superstar athletes accused of — and admitting to — taking performance-enhancing drugs is almost as impressive as the number of sports that they compete in. And we're not just talking about steroids.
By William Harris, Jennifer Walker-Journey & Austin Henderson
Without its keystone, a Roman aqueduct collapses. Does the same travesty befall an ecosystem when a keystone species goes missing from the ecological equation?
Who likes getting caught in a downpour without an umbrella? Not this guy and not us. Are we ever going to achieve rainmaker status so we can dial up a few gentle showers one day and a blast of sunshine the next?
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Once considered a semiprecious metal alongside gold and silver, aluminum pretty much languished in obscurity until the 19th century. How did the metal become so ubiquitous?
The Zumwalt is the military's class of next-generation destroyers. Find out how the Zumwalt class destroyer works and learn about Zumwalt technology.
Inventing a useful product or process is serious business — turn a great idea into a marketable widget, and you could earn millions of dollars. But that doesn't mean your widget has to be straitlaced and conservative.
Are you hungry for some nitro-scrambled egg-and-bacon ice cream? Did you want a little fried mayo on that sandwich? Molecular gastronomy has cast cooking in a new light and created some seemingly bizarre, but shockingly delicious dishes.
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We humans aren't complete slaves to time. We've devised ways to pack an extra hour of sunshine into our day, thanks to daylight saving time. But who came up with this idea and why do so many people loathe it?
Most of the world uses the metric system for everyday measurements, but only three countries in the world use the imperial system as their official system of measurement.
By William Harris & Sascha Bos
As the symbol of innovation, the incandescent light bulb is not very innovative. Luckily, there's a new type of light bulb -- a greener one -- that stands poised to replace Edison's most famous invention as the icon of ideation.
By William Harris & Sascha Bos
Biodiversity means rainforests and reefs teeming with species right? There's more to it than that though. Genetic diversity has a big role to play, too. Just ask that cheetah cub.
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This person of diverse interests also invented the cowcatcher device for trains and held a distinguished mathematics professorship at the University of Cambridge.
Since Charles Darwin published the theory of evolution by means of natural selection, myths and misinterpretations have eroded public understanding of his ideas. Ready to take another look at one of the related questions that just won't die?
By William Harris & Sascha Bos