The German Wendelstein 7-X reactor has broken all records

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In the field of nuclear fusion ITER (International Thermonuclear Experctor reactor), The experimental reactor that an international consortium led by Europe is building in the French town of Cadarache, monopolizes all eyes. However, in the old continent we have other fusion energy machines that are also very important. The Wendelstein 7-X experimental reactorwhich is installed in one of the buildings that the Max Planck Institute has for Plasma Physics in Greifswald (Germany), is one of them. Its purpose is to contribute to the development of the technologies involved in the tuning of nuclear fusion reactors through magnetic confinement, but its formula is different from that proposed by Iter or JET. In fact, the Wendelstein 7-X reactor is a type design Stellarator. The most obvious difference between Tokamak and Stellator reactors It resides in its geometry. The former have a toroid form (or donut), and the latter have a more complex geometry that resembles them to a twisted donut on itself. However, the fundamental difference between these two designs is that the reactors Tokamak They require that the magnetic fields that confine the plasma are generated by coils and induced by plasma itself, while in the reactors Stellarator Everything is done with coils. There is no current within the plasma. This means, in short, that the latter are more complex and difficult to build. Fortunately, Wendelstein 7-X experiment is already delivering extraordinarily promising results. Global record in long -term plasma The first tests carried out in this fusion reactor between 2015 and 2018 came out as planned, so in November of this last year there came an important moment in its itinerary: it was necessary to modify it to install a water cooling system that was able to evacuate more effectively the residual thermal energy of the walls of the vacuum chamber, as well as a system that allowed the plasma to reach a higher temperature. The works required by these modifications concluded successfully in August 2022. The electronic cyclotonic resonance heating system delivers more than 1 MW of power to plasma When scientists introduce such important modifications in such a complex experiment they are forced to review everything obsessively before launching the machine again to make sure that everything will go correctly. Fortunately everything went well and in February 2023 the Wendelstein 7-X reactor reached an important milestone: He managed to confine and stabilize plasma for 8 uninterrupted minutes in which the reactor delivered a total energy of 1.3 gigajulios. But it wasn’t enough. Now it was time to submit this machine to a new maintenance and renewal phase with the purpose of going further. A year later the reactor was prepared again to carry out new experiments, and now has significant improvements. The technicians who have worked on it in recent months have optimized the control and data acquisition systems, have improved the plasma heating system and have implemented about 50 additional diagnostic tests. Of all these improvements the most relevant is the heating system because it is now capable of generating more than 1 megavatio of power in the plasma thanks to the microwave application. This technology is known as the electronic cyclotonic resonance heating system (ECRH or Electron Cyclotron Resonance Heating in English). The first results have not taken to arrive. And it is that on May 22 this German reactor registered a world record by sustaining the fusion reaction through a high performance plasma For 43 seconds. To date, no other merger machine has prolonged both the triple product in long -term plasma discharges. Understanding what the triple product is is not difficult (it is also known as Lawson’s criteria). In fact, it is nothing more than a metric that evaluates the density of the plasma particles, its temperature and the time that magnetic confinement lasts with the purpose of measuring the performance of the fusion reaction. This strategy is essential because it allows engineers to determine if the fusion reactor has overcome the threshold that allows it to generate more energy than it has been necessary to use to heat the plasma. Once this point has been reached, the energy balance becomes positive and the fusion reaction can be sustained over time without investing energy in the heating system continuously. This milestone would not have been possible without the intervention of the new frozen hydrogen packages developed by the Oak Ridge (USA) National Laboratory. However, there is something else that is worth not overlooked: during the campaign that the reactor has just finished, he has delivered 1.8 gigajacles of energy, so he has clearly exceeded the 1.3 gigajulios that he reached in February 2023. Image | MPI for Plasma Physics, Jan Hosan More information | Eurofusion In Xataka | “The nuclear fusion is intrinsically safe”: we interview Carlos Alejaldre, general director of Ciemat

Goal has been spying on everything we did when navigating our Android mobiles. They have caught it in fraganti

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Billions of users have been exposed to a new system of mass tracking and espionage that both goal and Yandex have used. Both companies have used a technique that took advantage of native applications such as Facebook or Instagram and then monitor everything we did with our mobile browsers. It is a drop more than one glass already Absolutely full: The attack on Our privacy. What happened. A group of researchers from the IMDEA Networks agency and the Universiteit Radboud of the Netherlands, led by teachers Gunes Care and Nerseo Vallina-Rodríguez, published yesterday An extensive technical article. In it they revealed the technique that they have baptized as ‘local Mess’ (‘Lo Local’) and what a goal has been using since September 2024 and Yandex much earlier, since 2017. What does ‘Local Mess’. We will focus on goal and its applications, although the method is analogous in Yandex. Android users who use applications such as Facebook or Instagram could be exposed, because those applications “listened to” what happened in the Browsers installed In our mobile phones using local ports (hence the ‘Local Mess’) with the aim of tracking and monitoring everything we did in our browsers. The user did not know anything. The method allowed these applications to achieve Receive metadata, cookies and commands that were executed in the browsers. The Meta JavaScript code, called Meta Pixel, was loaded silently and without warning as a kind of complement to mobile browsers, and connected to apps such as Facebook or Instagram. Discouraging users. As these researchers explain, the method allowed access device identifiers that are used for advertising systems, called Android Advertising ID (AAID), and that made it possible to associate everything the user did to a real identity (a Facebook or Instagram profile). The result: what we did in the browser was no longer anonymous or private. Neither unknown, nor delete cookies nor anything. This “web-top” method eludes systems that theoretically should protect this type of tracking. Thus, neither Delete cookiesnor navigate in Incognito mode It worked when trying to escape that tracking. In fact, the method “opens the door for potentially malicious applications to fit the user’s web activity,” they explain in the document. Exploiting our “localhost”. Meta and Yandex scripts are slightly different, but both make improper use of unauthorized access to sockets from our localhostthe reserved name that our device has on the local network and that is always the IP 127.0.0.1 (in IPV4) address. The Android operating system allows any application installed with Internet permission to open a listening socket in the Loopback interface (127.0.0.1). The browsers that are executed on the same device also access this interface without the consent of the user or the mediation of the platform. This allows a JavaScript code embedded on web pages to communicate with native Android applications and share identifiers and navigation activity. Millions of affected websites. For the goal to work in the method, he took advantage of his cookie _FBPvery widespread on websites that make use of this platform. According to Builtwith, a website that allows monitoring the adoption of different technologies, that goal Pixel is embedded in more than 5.8 million websites among which are Xataka. There is a search engine in the final part of the study that allows you to know if a website was exposed and the activity in it could be registered by these scripts. Scheme of the attack of the attack. Source: Local Mess. Theoretically, only on Android. The researchers reveal that they only managed to obtain empirical evidence of this technique in Android mobiles. They have not observed such a problem In iOS browsers Or in the applications they evaluated, although they point out that technically achieving something like this on the iPhones is feasible. Browsers protect themselves. Those responsible for the discovery have followed a communication policy responsible for vulnerabilities and have contacted several browse developers. Chrome already has prepared the patchFirefox’s is in development – but it seems not exposed to the problem in the case of goal – Duckdugo has already solved it and Brave was not affected When using a lock list and when required explicit permission of user for communications with the premises. There is no information on the progress of the patch in Microsoft Edge, which was affected. And goal has deactivated that option without further ado. Although browsers have taken measures, they are late. Not because there is no solution or the code has been modified, but because goal has decided to stop using it without saying anything. Yesterday the Meta Pixel script stopped sending packages or making requests to localhost. The code responsible for sending that cookie _fbp, indicate in an update in this report, has been almost completely deleted. Why did this goal? There is a hypothesis about the implementation of this technique by the goal: it could be due to how Google was intended to get rid of third -party cookies in Chrome At some point in 2024. That would have affected companies as a goal, which perhaps would have reacted trying to collect that information with this technique to have a plan B if cookies disappeared. What says goal. In Xataka we have contacted those responsible for the goal in Spain, and we will update this information if we receive an answer. In The Register they indicate that after contacting the company, Meta has indicated that: “We are in conversations with Google to solve a possible communication error in relation to the application of their policies. When we are aware of the concerns, we have decided to pause the function while we work with Google to solve the problem.” What Yandex says. The Russian company has made comments about the problem. Speaking to Android Authority, they explain the following: “Yandex strictly meets the data protection standards and does not discourage user data. The function in question does not collect any sensitive information and its only objective is to improve the customization of our applications. After examining the problems … Read more

AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT can also with it. And up to less money

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Mounting a gaming PC (or buying one that is already mounted) is a process that requires thinking well. Evidear we must measure the hardware that we will need or want, although this will depend on what we want to spend or what we hope to extract in terms of performance. To play 4K It is clear that you have to make a big investment, Although here it will depend on what we choose. If we look at NVIDIA graphics cards, prices for their range of range are very high. The same does not happen with AMD’s, even if we put your newly released on the table AMD Radeon ™ RX 9070 XTa graph with a lot of gross power capable of Move 4K games for much less. In fact, Neobyte has several complete equipment that we can acquire if we look for a PC from scratch. We have complete teams designed to play 4K Choosing an already mounted PC has many advantages. At the level of concern, the load is much lower: it is a team that comes ready to connect and play. Besides, They are very optimized equipment to perform at the maximumwhat is always a plus to take into account. These are some of those that have available Neobyte, ideal to squeeze what we want to 4K. NEO PC with AMD Radeon ™ RX 9070 XT and 1 TB of SSD The first of these teams that Neobyte has is this PC neo that, like the other that we are going to see on this list, is starring the AMD Radeon ™ RX 9070 XT. Obviously, the graph will always be what caught our attention, but it is not the only thing worth it (and much of this team). You just have to see your CPU, an AMD Ryzen ™ 7 9800x3D, a beast with which we are going to have Great performance even with heavy applications. To the above we must add 32 GB of DDR5 type RAMas well as a crucial SSD of 1 TB and a double fan liquid cooling system. All this is mounted in an ax90 antec box with a sober design, but where the RGB is not missing. It comes out by 1,998.99 euros (instead of 2,299 euros). PC NEO GAMING R7 9800X3D RX 9070 XT 32GB 1TB SSD * Some price may have changed from the last review PC neo with AMD Radeon ™RX 9070 XT and 2 TB of SSD We have this other PC neo as an alternative to the previous one. Actually, it is a very similar version in terms of its main hardware, since it comes both with an AMD Radeon ™ RX 9070 XT and graphic and with an AMD Ryzen ™ 7 9800x3d processor. There is a quite interesting change in storage, which although it is also of the crucial brand, In this case it is 2 TB. Two other changes at the design level. In this case, the liquid cooling is three fans, so it will be more efficient to maintain the temperatures of the processor at bay. The other change, perhaps the most striking, we have it in its box: in this case, it is a Corsair box 3500 Argb with a glass front and side. This comes out by 2,189.99 euros (instead of 2,398.99 euros). PC NEO GAMING RYZEN 7 9800X3D RX 9070 XT 32GB 2TB SSD * Some price may have changed from the last review We can also directly update our Gaming PC We may have a PC at home, one that even has A AM5 compatible plate and the most modern processors. In that case, what will interest us most is Acquire separate componentseither the processor, the graph or even both. Whatever our case, in Neobyte we can also find what we need. ASUS TUF GAMING AMD RADEON ™ RX 9070 XT OC Edition If we are looking for the AMD Radeon ™ RX 9070 XT, this Asus assembly can fit us perfectly. As usual, we are facing a graph with A quite minimalist design presided over by three black fans and a Backplate Rear very in the line with the brand logo. It should be noted that it is a model with 16 GB of VRM GDDR6, which implies that, in addition to power, it will also be a longest assembly. Thanks to this card, we will have it very easy to squeeze any 4K game without having to do without graphic adjustments. This card has a performance significantly higher than the previous generation of AMD graphics cards, and that without counting that Thanks to FSR 4 we will obtain improved performance. All of the above without forgetting that it is a card that comes with Overclock serial, Ideal to scratch a little more about it. It comes out by 819.90 euros (instead of 898.99 euros). ASUS TUF GAMING RADEON RX 9070 XT OC Edition 16GB GDDR6 – Graphics Card * Some price may have changed from the last review AMD RYZEN ™ 7 9800X3D If we have a plaque with Socket AM5 and we look for a powerful processor, AMD Ryzen ™ 7 9800x3D can fit us perfectly. It is one of the best processors that AMD has right now, one that has 8 nuclei and 16 threads Able to offer clock frequencies that go to 5.2 GHz. With it, we will not have any problem, even in heavy tasks or with many applications running at the same time. Another point to take into account this AMD CPU is that it has 3D V-Cache technologywhich allows it to have a much higher performance. Matching the same with a current GPU (either the AMD Radeon ™ RX 9070 XT or its base version), We will have a powerful and lasting computer not to have to worry for a few years. Its price is 519.89 euros (instead of 749.90 euros). AMD Ryzen 7 9800x3D – AM5 processor * Some price may have changed from the last review Some … Read more

be the Japan of Europe

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2024 has not been a good year for the Italians. Not at least if we talk about demography. Although the flow of immigrants has allowed him to soften the blow, the country has seen how its fertility rate fell to historical minimumsthe families continued to shrink, the average age of the population kept their escalation until approaching the psychological barrier of the 50 years and the exodus of citizens who decide to seek their future abroad increased 36%depriving the nation especially of qualified young people, something that It is already worried to its central bank. Italy It is not the only country that supports the icy winds of the Demographic winterbut his drift already threatens to turn it into the Japan of the old continent. Birth, downstairs. A few weeks ago the National Statistics Institute of Italy (Istat) public A global balance on the demography of 2024 that leaves a few joys and the occasional disappointment. The country closed the year with 370,000 births, bad news twice. First because it represents a decrease of 2.6% with respect to 2023 and aggravates the fall of its birth rate. Second, because it leaves its fertility index in historical minimums: 1.18 children per woman. The previous record, of 1.19, had been reached in 1995. A structural problem. For Istat that loss of babies is worrisome because it relieves more than a simple fall in the fertility index. In his opinion Boils with the loss of men and women of age of having children. “The relevance of the structural aspect is evident,” he warns. “If the female population of productive age (15-49 years) is considered, it has gone from 14.3 million EM January 1994 to 11.4 in January 2024”. In the case of men, the group in the same age strip has dropped from 14.5 million to just 11.9. Hence, the current fertility rate of 1.18 is much more problematic than that of 1995. 50 -year way. Another of the problems that Italy Lidia is the aging of its population, a phenomenon on which He has warned Also Eurostat. According to the Italian agency, at the beginning of 2025 the average age of the population that resides in Italy already was already 46.8 years, two tenths more than a year ago. The data that Eurostat draws an even more unfortunate panorama: they place the median age in 48.7 yearsthe second largest fact of the entire EU. It only exceeds Monaco, where it marks 50.5 years. The European mean It is 44.7. In Italy children (under 14 years old) represent 11.9% of the total and the population of working age 63.4%. Both stripes experienced setbacks in 2024, unlike what happened with the group of citizens who exceed 65 years: they suppose 24.7% of the total, four tenths more than a year ago. Among them also grow the octogenarians and nonagenarians. If nothing changes, There are those who calculate That in 2040 there will be five million people less in working age. THE OTHER CHALLENGE: The Exodus. Italy is facing another problem that has made the alarms of experts and authorities: Emigration. Last year 191,000 people left the country, 20.5% more than in 2023. Most of them, about 156,000, were also Italians who chose to look for life abroad, which represents a remarkable increase with respect to 2023. The rest (around 35,000) are Expats of other nationalities, such as the Romanian, who had been residing in Italy for some time and for one reason or another they decided to make their bags. Looking for life out. “They are forceful figures, although they could fall short according to some analysts, such as Federico Fubini, who recently published A column in Corriere in which he remembered that there are Italians who have abandoned the country without processing the change of residence, so the phenomenon could be greater. “More and more Italians opt for the path of self -determination and leave the country for situations that consider better,” Point out. In his opinion, the current migratory phenomenon is not comparable to that of the last decade, when the loss of population was basically motivated by the lack of employment in Italy. “Today there is and, instead, people, mostly young, will look for it in other places.” “Create opportunities”. That last nuance, that of young people who decide to leave, is fundamental. So much, in fact, that he has led the governor of the Bank of Italy, Fabio Panetta, to ask that measures be taken to retain talent and human capital. “It is necessary to create attractive employment opportunities for the many Italians who leave the country in search of better perspectives,” warned a few days ago in statements collected by Financial Times. The newspaper remember That between 2014 and 2023 they left the country more than one million Italians and more than a third of them were young people between 25 and 35 years old, many of them with university degrees. During that period they made the reverse journey (natives who choose to return) many less young. Of them only 50,000 had higher training. Istat himself calculates that the migratory balance of graduates has been negative, with a net loss of 97,000. A balance in red numbers. With 370,000 births and 651,000 deaths, Italy closed 2024 with a negative natural balance of 281,000 people. That loss managed to soften it in part thanks to the arrival of people from abroad. Although his flow fell with respect to the previous year, he remained at 435,000 (including about 53,000 repatriated), enough to compensate for the escape of Italians to other countries and leave a positive general migratory balance. The country fired the year with a census of some 58.9 million of residents. Japan’s example. Italy is not the only country that crosses demographic turbulence. In fact, Spain has reached a population record (49.1 million) It is thanks to the increase in the foreign population, which compensates for the decrease in the native. The puncture of birth and gradual aging are … Read more

The restoration of old photos has always been a challenge. This new AI model has just resolved it

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The ability of AI to generate texts, images or video have proven to be amazing, but there was still a problem that These systems were resisted: the one Restore old photos to leave them perfect. That has just changed with Flux.1 Kontexta family of generative AI models with a very special characteristic: instead of following the line of the traditional text-imagen models, Flux.1 Kontext generates in-conntext images: it is possible to use as prompt a reference image and a text (prompt) so that the combination is much more powerful. You don’t need to look at the camera. The AI ​​is able to generate an image of yours looking from the original (on the left) and even a smiling. Source: Black Forest Labs. The possibilities, as explained by Black Forest Labs – the startup that develops these models – are spectacular. It is possible to maintain the context – paids, faces, objects – to modify the rest of the image at our whim: it is enough to combine those reference images with more or less detailed prompts to obtain the desired result. What Black Forest Labs engineers did not say is that this same idea could be applied to an old need: the aforementioned Old photos restoration. It is enough to load any image damaged by the passage of time or for any other reason, and Flux will do a spectacular restoration work in just a few moments. An old woman (I will not say how much) mine: if I see her from afar the result is spectacular, credible. When I do zoom, somewhat more weird things begin to appear: the face somewhat more elongated, more “square”, the nose and forehead. It’s me, but it’s not me. It is possible to test the tool in the “Recreo Patio” (Playground) of Black Forestor in services such as Fal.AI. We wanted to try it in Freepik, the Spanish generative the AI ​​platform that from the first moment has given access to previous Black Forest Labs models and of course already available Flux.1 Kontext in their two modalities, Pro and Max. Real Madrid. Commonwealth Regional Championship, October 28, 1934. Source: Institute of Cultural Heritage of Spain The results have really been striking, as can be seen in That old photo of the Real Madrid of 1934. The image headed by the article is a clear example, and here there are some details that are common in this generative model. Thus, it is possible to turn old photos into current photos that also have color and much more detail than the originals. It may even in portraits the result is similar but strange, artificial, or that traits of the person who make the result are somewhat shocking are modified. It happened for example with a Lincoln portrait obtained of the US Congress bookstore. Of course, that can end up being counterproductive. We have used a very simple prompt for this process: “Restore and Colorize This Image. Remove Any Scratches or Imperfections, Keep Fidelity”, but it is possible to adjust the results more if we introduce much more specific requests and prompts. Of course, miracles do not exist and if we zoom in the images, the problem of “hallucinations” applied to the generative image of images can arise. In the famous photograph of ‘Lunch atop a Skyscraper’ (Wikipedia) The detail of the original is scarce, so when AI tries to restore it, invents small details or features that are not. The result seen from afar, yes, is fantastic. Although Flux.1 Kontext fails to improve the definition of the image too much, sacrifices that level of detail to maintain loyalty, color and fix all the cracks of the original photo. Source: Reddit. The examples speak for themselves and demonstrate that the restoration of photos reaches thanks to this model a really spectacular quality, as happens in the photo of that family (Reddit). To get an idea of ​​the cost, each image restored with Flux Pro in Freepick costs 100 credits, and with a monthly subscription at its premium service (10 euros/month) 18,000 credits are achieved. Thus, 180 of these restorations for 10 euros, less than six cents per image. Other Black Forest Labs models are available in Github And they can be installed and used at home – ideal if you have a good GPU – but for now Flux.1 Kontext is not included in that catalog. We do not know if they will add it soon, but for the moment it is possible to experience for free with the model in services such as those mentioned. Without a doubt, a great option to perform this type of task. In Xataka | The 1900 Paris, in 4K all color: the restored videos that transport you to the 19th century

As of today, ATMs are also a revolution thing. Fintech launches its first physical network, and starts with Spain

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Which It started as a way to send and spend money Without commissions, a bank has ended up looking more and more. Revolutionwhich ten years ago was born in the United Kingdom as an app designed to simplify finances, it has become One of the most valuable Fintech in the sector. And his last play makes it clear: his own ATMs. Yes, ATMs. An idea that would have been difficult to fit in its early years, when it was unmarked from the traditional. But now it is a reality. The former will arrive in Spain, and not anywhere: the debut will be in the Spring Sound from Barcelonawhich starts today and extends until June 8. Spain, Revolution’s first physical laboratory. The company has chosen Spain to release its first physical product: a network of ATMs developed entirely in its Techhub in Barcelona. According to Revolution, the initial phase includes 50 terminals between Madrid and Barcelona, ​​which will be expanded until reaching 200 throughout the country. The former will be located at large points such as Avinguda Diagonal or Toledo Street, and can be located from the app by an interactive map. Barcelona’s choice is not accidental. The city not only houses one of the strategic development centers of the company, but also represents, according to the company itself, a key piece in its European expansion map. In fact, Revolution plans to take this network to other countries such as Germany, Italy or Portugal from 2026. Happy ATMs for a digital customer. The new ATMs do not look like the usual. They are designed with a modern interface, touch navigation, compatibility with contactless payments and multilingual support. They also offer functions designed to reduce friction: withdrawals without additional commissions for Revolution clients and immediate delivery of physical cards. Free withdrawals will be available both nationally and internationally and intra -Europe. For non -customers, the service will also be available “with a competitive commission.” In addition, Revolution plans to incorporate in the future the dynamic conversion option of currency (DCC), which will allow you to choose between the exchange rate of the emitter bank or that of Revolution at the time of withdrawal. And he will not remain in retired. The company also plans to enable cash deposits in later phases, thus expanding the range of accessible services from these physical points. The physical step of a 100 % digital experience. In the words of Manjot Bhati, Operating Partner of Revolution, “to launch our own ATMs network a decisive step in our mission of offering a truly global financial experience and without friction.” As we can see, with this movement, Fintech seeks to expand its footprint beyond the app. It is not a minor change. Revolut was born as a 100 % digital actor, without physical offices or windows. His commitment to their own ATMs suggests a new stage: one in which the physical does not contradict digital, but complements it. A stage where the cashier is no longer just an cash machine. We will have to see if this movement translates into a new success. Images | Aleksandrs Karevs In Xataka | Revolution is not just a threat to traditional banks. Now it is also for Teleoperators

It is not made to stay where it is

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3D printing is beginning to transform the way we build. In Germany it has already shaped a Data center with a undulating facade that would have been difficult to lift with conventional methods. In Japan it has allowed to print, in record time, A small railway station building. And now, in a tiny high mountain town in the canton of the Gray, in Switzerlanda white concrete tower It has ever become higher created with this technique. It is called Tor Alva, and it is not only an engineering work, but also a declaration of intentions. How culture, computational design and sustainability can be intertwined. A new milestone of 3D printed architecture Tor Alva, who in Romonche “The White Tower” means, it is the result of a collaboration between the Swiss Cultural Foundation Nova Fundaziun origin and the Federal Institute of Zurich Technology (Eth zurich). Raised in the small Mulegns enclave, the 30 -meter high tower (counting the base on which it supports) is presented as a vertical scenic space, a cultural lighthouse that emerges on the roofs of the Valley of Surresses. According to those responsible for the projectthe building combines computational design and automated structural reinforcement to shape a structure that, until recently, seemed technically impossible. It is a five -story building, crowned by a theatrical dome with capacity for 32 people, sustained by 32 unique columns printed one by one by a robotic system. These columns not only fulfill a structural function: they are also the facade, the ornamentation and the visual firm of the tower. The columns of Tor Alva They are made of white concrete Printed in layers of 8 millimeters high by 25 millimeters wide. Each one measures between 3.4 and 6 meters high, and is formed by three different layers: an exterior with ornamental textures, an intermediate that houses structural reinforcement and a hollow interior for vertical channels. In total, each column implies about 5,000 meters of extruded material. The most striking thing is that there are not two equal columns. They ensure that all were designed algorithmically and manufactured with millimeter precision. The design is articulated on three scales: an organic general form that absorb lateral forces Without additional reinforcements, a wave structure that reinforces the thin walls and, finally, an ornamentation pattern generated directly by the printing of the Printer Head. The result is an unconventional structure, but built with structural logic and material efficiency. One of the biggest challenges of 3D printing with concrete has been, so far, the lack of effective structural reinforcement. Tor Alva solves that stumbling block with a notable technical innovation: during the printing of each column, two robots worked in tandem. One was in charge of extruding the concrete layer per cape. The other induced, in parallel, the metallic reinforcement between those layers. Later, vertical steel rods were placed and mortar injected to consolidate the set. Unlike traditional buildings, Tor Alva has been designed with an eye on its future disassembly. The tower will only remain in Mulegns For five years. But something is very curious: at any time it can be completely disassembled and rebuilt elsewhere. At any time it can be completely and rebuilt in another place The columns were assembled in a prefabrication plant located 10 kilometers from the town, and moved in trucks to the work. Each consists of three parts: the base, the printed column and the capitel. The horizontal pieces, which did not lend themselves well to the impression, were manufactured with molds also printed on 3D and ecological concrete. The structure is completed with an ultralight and removable outer membrane that protects it in winter and can be removed in summer. But Tor Alva is not just a technical experiment. It is also a cultural space. Since the end of May that is open to the public. Visitors ascend through a snail staircase, cross dark rooms, stays bathed in the light and, finally, reach a show room under the dome. There will be held concerts, readingscontemporary choreographies and other scenic proposals. Images | Tor Alva/Eth Zurich In Xataka | The largest concrete wall in Spain is in Salamanca and generates electricity: this is the almond dam

Starlink’s growth is so brutal that Spacex is one year after overcoming NASA’s annual budget

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Elon Musk became the richest man in the world thanks to Tesla, but his new golden egg chicken It’s called Starlink. The tycoon has given credibility to something that It had been commenting Since the White House announced NASA’s historic cuts: Spacex’s income is one year after overcoming the annual budget of the planet’s largest space agency. More money than NASA. Elon Musk He just put the data On the table: “Spacex’s income for its commercial activities in space will exceed NASA’s total budget next year.” Spacex is a private company controlled by Musk itself, so it is not obliged to publicly present its results. However, we now know that it plans to enter 15.5 billion dollars in 2025. If approved in Congress, NASA’s annual budget for 2026 will be 18.8 billion dollars, 24% less than the previous year. The whole mountain is Starlink. Spacex receives NASA money to transport astronauts to the International Space Station or develop space programs such as the lunar Starship, but in 2025, that transaction has been “only” 1.1 billion dollars. Most of what Spacex earns comes from Starlink, although the amount of NASA contracts will rise to 1,747 million dollars in 2026, adding the Moon To Mars program. Starlink has more than 5 million customers, a figure that has been duplicating from year to year. The bulk of the business are residential customers, but satellite Internet service has been diversifying with agreements in the maritime sector (mercantile vessels and cruises), the aviation sector (Chárter operators and commercial airlines), the operators (Direct-to-Cell) and the government sector (especially The Starshield constellation of the number). The perpetual movement machine. Starlink’s success would not be possible without Spacex’s launching capacitywhich continues to be beating reuse records with its Falcon 9. The company celebrated its 500 mission last night. The propeller that has taken and landed the most times has done it 28 times, 17 of them to put Starlink satellites in orbit. The integration of the company is totally vertical. Spacex manufactures rockets, satellites and terminals. And innovation is constant. At the end of May, a Falcon 9 deployed 29 Starlink v2 mini optimized satellites225 kg lighter than previous versions and with a bandwidth of 96 Gbps. How much Spacex is worth. With more than 7,000 active satellites in orbit, an incomparable number of any other constellation, Starlink has triggered the assessment of Spacex at stratospheric levels. The most recent valuation is 350,000 million dollars, which makes it the company not quoted in the largest stock market in the United States. Taking into account that Spacex Starlink’s benefits reinvested on the Starship programIt is worth asking who will lead the space exploration of the United States in the coming years, if NASA or Elon Musk’s company. Image | Spacex In Xataka | Spacex has launched 8,000 Starlink satellites in five years, but they are not enough. And we are beginning to understand why

Onlyfans has made adult content a millionaire business thanks to a different strategy. And now it goes for more

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It started as an alternative to Patreon. He ended up dominating adult content on the Internet. Onlyfans has broken molds, has faced vetoes and has resisted the scrutiny of banks, governments and technological. And yet, he has paid more than 20,000 million dollars to its creators. In the new episode of Xataka presentsour partner Jota García immerses himself in the history of a platform that has challenged the standards of the digital market and now tries to transform without losing its essence. Because what Onlyfans has achieved is not less: professionalizing a historically informal sector, turning it into a profitable industry and doing so without depending on the App Store or Google Play. As Jota says in the video, “Onlyfans has achieved what few digital platforms have achieved: convert the adult content that has traditionally been found on the Internet for free in a source of millionaire income.” The number impresses: 6,600 million dollars invoiced in 2023. But behind that figure there is a key business decision. Onlyfans has remained outside the large application stores. Because? Because entering there would imply deliver up to 30% of each payment to Apple or Google. As our partner explains, “if Onlyfans’s application worked through these stores, the company would have to distribute up to 50% of each payment between two intermediaries. ”The price of that decision: lower visibility. The benefit: total independence and protection of its economic model. Of course, not everything has been growth. In 2021, under pressure from banks, the platform announced the prohibition of explicit content. “The massive reaction of users and creators forced Onlyfans to back down,” Jota recalls. Since then, the company has reinforced verification controls, has diversified financial partners and has tried to reposition itself as a space for all kinds of creators. But can you do it? The brand remains mainly associated with adult content, which is an economic advantage, but also a reputational barrier. Although he has launched Onlyfans TV – a video platform without sexual content, designed for kitchen programs, interviews and training – and has begun to attract musicians, comedians or athletes, many creators continue Feeling the stigma weight. “Many have shown reluctance to link to the brand for fear of rejection of their sponsors,” says the video. Is this effort to renew? Can Onlyfans become a mainstream space like Patreon without losing your identity? We analyze it a little more detail In the new published video On the Xataka YouTube channel. It is a story that is worth following closely because few platforms have generated both debate, so many income and as much transformation like this. Images | Xataka In Xataka | The technological one that generates more money is not Apple or Nvidia or Amazon. It is a porn boutique: Onlyfans

Russia, Emirates and Saudi Arabia are dynamiting the poster from within

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In 1973 one of the greatest energy crises of the twentieth century broke out. Yom Kipur war and the oil embargo decreed by Arab countries fired the price of crude oil, which quadrupled in a few months. The consequence was an economic storm: inflation, recession and a deep geopolitical rearrangement that catapulted the OPEC to the center of the world energy board. Five decades have passed, but oil continues to mark the pulse of global tensions. There is no formal embargo, but worldwide conflicts added to a Commercial War promoted by the United States. Despite all this unstable situation, the OPEC+ has chosen to continue producing for the third consecutive month, in an already saturated market and with prices in descent. Disturbing signals. Against all forecast, OPEC+ has decided to increase its production in full price drop. At its last meeting, the poster, with the impulse of Saudi Arabia, has approved to add 411,000 barrels per day from July. The measure has left several of its own members perplexed, According to Bloomberg. The adjustment is equivalent to just 1.2 % of the global demand, but its political and strategic impact is deeper. Very disparate reasons. A possibility like He has pointed out The Economist is that Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies would be trying to please Donald Trump. During his recent tour of the region, the former president pressed directly to achieve a decrease in fuel prices. In return, Riad and Abu Dabi expect strategic benefits, such as agreements in technological sectors such as In artificial intelligence chips. However, this is not the only motivation. The United States Plan based on an aggressive fracking expansion To lower oil It has altered the global market balance. In this scenario, Saudi Arabia has opted for a blunt response: flood the market with crude. By increasing the supply and forcing a price drop, it seeks to press schist producers in the United States, whose profitability depends on higher prices. This strategy also allows you to punish OPEC+ members who do not respect the quotas and, at the same time, recover part of the lost market share in the face of American unconfral oil. The background problem. The OPEC+ crisis is not only a matter of strategy or prices, but of internal cohesion. The cardinal regla of the poster on not producing more than agreed is being ignored by several members. According to The Economistthe United Arab Emirates (EAU) have declared to produce 2.9 million barrels per day (MB/D), but according to analysts consulted by the medium they have estimated that they would be producing between 200,000 and 500,000 b/d, well above their real share. The most worrying thing for OPEC+ is that even the “secondary sources” that they use to verify figures seem complicit in maintaining this fiction. Many are consultants that depend on contracts with state companies such as ADNOC (EAU) or Saudi Aramco. Although this comes from before. The first to reveal itself as such It was Kazakhstanwho overproduces up to 300,000 b/d above what was agreed in April. While Iraq has difficulty controlling its total production, which includes fields in Kurdish hands. These three countries are weakening the authority of the poster from within. And there is a surprise more. The only member of the group with geopolitical power comparable to the Saudi, has begun to show opposition. Bloomberg has detailed That at the most recent meeting, Russia supported by Algeria and Oman, asked to freeze production in July to evaluate the effects of previous increases, but his proposal was ignored. Saudi Arabia has imposed its plan without consensus, a clear sign that the era of collegiate leadership is over. Are we facing an implosion? If Saudi Arabia fails to control the Emirates or contain divergences with Russia, the poster runs the risk of becoming irrelevant. The promised fees review for this year has been postponed until 2027, which has unleashed frustration in Abu Dhabi. The Emirates, with a capacity that almost reaches 5 MB/D, need only $ 50 per barrel to balance their accounts, compared to the $ 90 that requires Saudi Arabia. The structural divergence between the two is deep. An analyst with contacts in both governments He has warned For The Economist that is only a matter of time for an open clash between the two giants, which could precipitate an Emirati output of the OPEC+. On the edge of collapse. For 65 years, OPEC has survived wars, pandemics and the fracking boom. But it seems that it has reached its limit in this situation, where the demand for oil could reach its peak in the next decade, and many petroesties are determined to sell what they can before it is too late. If internal cohesion continues to erode, if the quotas are unfulfilled unpaid and if the large producers act unilaterally, the OPEC+ will no longer be a global strategic actor and will become a symbolic alliance. The current “crack” is not just prices. It is an institutional “crack.” And this time, it can be definitive. Image | Pexels Xataka | The oil market faces a triple coup and IEA is clear why: Iran, Opep+ and electric vehicles

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