colossal

Denmark is preparing a colossal artificial island where it wants to connect half of Europe to receive energy

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Europe depends on third parties for strategic resources as valuable as gas or oil, so the energy transition is an absolute priority. Among the essential renewables for this transition is wind energy and there is a place that is a vein: the North Sea. The question is to connect this enormous field of wind turbines with the rest of the continent and you know how: with a new island in Denmark. The Danish artificial island. Denmark wants to build an artificial island in the North Sea that functions as a kind of “giant plug” to connect hundreds of offshore wind turbines from several European countries at the same time. The North Sea Energy Island, as it will be called, will be built about 80 – 100 kilometers off the west coast of Jutland, and will cost about 28 billion euros. according to the International Energy Agency and the company in charge of its management will be the Danish operator Energinet. Although initially will have a capacity of 3 GWthe idea is to expand it to 10 GW by 2040, enough to supply about ten million European homes. The installation will combine electricity, the production of hydrogen is on the table and in the future it may incorporate energy storage. Why it is important. Because according to Energinet, it is the largest infrastructure project in the history of Denmark, but this is a multinational project to accelerate offshore wind deployment and strengthen energy infrastructure between the North Sea countries. Furthermore, grouping the connection of several wind farms at a single point allows us to distribute infrastructure costs and place the turbines further from the coast, where the wind is more constant. On the other hand, this island will produce green hydrogen for ships and airplanes, two industries with complex electrification. Context. This project was born fruit of Denmark’s 2020 climate agreement, when its parliament approved the creation of two energy islands: this one of artificial origin in the North Sea and another minor one of natural origin in Bornholm, in the Baltic Sea. In May 2022, the project was consolidated with the agreement between the energy ministries of Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark, which established the initial capacity and its connections. The project is part of the broader European strategy for marine renewable electrification, which the European Commission promotes since 2019 with the goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2050. In detail. Denmark has the majority participation in this critical infrastructure through Energinet, builder and owner of the network to the country. The rest of the international connections will be established with operators in each country, such as Elia (Belgium) or Amprion (Germany). The island will be connected to Denmark by Gammelgab, in the municipality of Varde, and the connection to the electrical grid will be made at a plant in Revsing, in the municipality of Vejen, as confirmed by Energinet. Yes, but. The production of hydrogen on the island is still a pending issue regarding technological advances in the segment over the next decade: everything is a question of economic viability, or in other words, whether it is more profitable to produce it on the island or on the coast. The decarbonization potential is enormous and so is the political support, but It is already experiencing delays and increased costs: It was originally planned for 2033 and we already know that it will not materialize until at least 2036. It also raises environmental concerns: the design contemplates converting protection structures into artificial reefs and monitoring marine biodiversity, but the relevant environmental permits are still pending. In short, this energy island today is more of a project than a reality. In Xataka | Something is happening with wind energy. Its deployment has slowed while solar energy grows unstoppable In Xataka | Offshore wind seemed to be Europe’s great energy hope: now it faces a murky future Cover | Vindo

a colossal textile factory from a thousand years ago with its own Amancio Ortega

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There are many myths surrounding the Vikings: they were not a pure superior race how supremacists think neither pillage was their way of life. Yes indeed, They were even more violent of what the collective imagination thinks. But they were not savages or illiterate: their society was more complex and advanced than it may seem. So much so that They had a huge workshop set up textile. The discovery. The Moesgaard Museum, the institution linked to Aarhus University and an authentic reference in Danish Viking archaeology, has presented the preliminary results of an ongoing excavation in Søften, north of Aros, the Viking city that is the origin of modern-day Aarhus. There they have found 82 underground workshop huts (grubehuse) in an area of ​​at least 100,000 square meters. Liv Stidsing Reher-Langberg, director of the excavation, points out that the layout of the site, with differentiated areas of production, crafts and a single home, suggests that it was an activity directed by someone with control over the resources, it was not just any agricultural town. Why is it important. Moesgaard historian Kasper H. Andersen explains that Søften and Lisbjerg are examples of how Aros was integrated into international economic networks thanks to these productive centers in the periphery. That is, it reinforces the theory that there artisanal production was organized in satellite settlements around emporiums, such as Ribe or Hedeby. Context. In addition to this Søften site, there are two other Viking sites near Aros: Lisbjerg, where the Moesgaard museum had previously excavated an aristocratic settlement where they found 30 graves in 2025 and Elstedwhere in 2024 an archeology student found a Viking silver hoard. This set of sites reinforces the image of a densely organized region around Aarhus during the Viking Age, probably between the 7th and 10th centuries AD, although the exact dating of the Søften site is yet to be confirmed by scientific analysis, according to collects mithsonian Magazine. In detail. Of the 82 grubehuse, 48 have been located in this campaign in an area that covers 60,000 square meters and the remaining 34 come from from previous excavations carried out in 2008 and 2013. Among the objects recovered were loom weights and spindles for textile production, silver cuttings, coins and glass beads, goods linked to commerce and the economic activity of the place. Likewise, there was a cobblestone area next to a wet area, which made traffic easier. Yes, but. At the moment we are looking at conclusions from the preliminary study, not an academic publication with peer review. Furthermore, the hypothesis of “centralized control” is an interpretation of the excavation director, Liv Stidsing Reher-Langberg, pending more precise dating and fiber analysis that places the site exactly within the Viking era. In Xataka | We knew that Viking society was violent, but not that violent: a new study sheds light on their level of weaponry In Xataka | Science already knows when the Viking Age began. Thanks to a solar flare Cover | Ashutosh Gupta and Moesgaard Museum

a colossal work of engineering that has been waiting for 150 years

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The project has lurched back and forth for decades, but Norway has finally kicked off one of its most amazing engineering feats: the Stad Ship Tunnel. It is the first tunnel in the world designed for ships to navigate inside. After many years of debatea budget that did not stop growing and a failed attempt to cancel it by the Government, the project is resurrected with approved financing and works planned to start in early 2027. We will tell you all the details. What you are looking to solve. The Stad Peninsula, on the west coast of Norway, is one of the most dangerous areas for navigation in the entire country. With no nearby islands to act as a natural barrier, the Stadhavet Sea has very rough waters, as for about 100 days a year it has waves that can exceed 30 meters arriving from several directions at the same time. That’s a problem for ships, as both fishing boats and cargo ships are forced to wait days (and sometimes weeks) until the weather eases enough to safely navigate the peninsula. Being late when transporting fish has serious consequences, since perishable products spoil, the railway network collapses as an alternative and companies in the sector lose money. “If we are going to export salmon from Trøndelag to the mainland, we cannot risk it getting stuck in Stad due to bad weather. Because it would arrive on the mainland as rakfisk (Norwegian fermented fish) and not as sushi,” counted Tore O. Sandvik, regional mayor of Trøndelag. The boat tunnel. The answer that has been gaining weight for years has been drilling the mountain. The Stad Ship Tunnel will cross the narrowest point of the peninsula (just 1.7 kilometers) between Moldefjord and Kjødepollen, in the Vanylvsfjord. With its 36 meters wide and 50 meters total height (33 meters free from sea level to the roof), the tunnel will be able to accommodate everything from small fishing boats to ferries and cruise ships, including ships on the Hurtigruten coastal route. The ships would pass through the tunnel in about 10 minutes, at a speed of 8 knots. Century and a half of history. The first sketches of crossing the Stad peninsula They date from 1874although the technology of the time condemned it to be considered a utopia. In the eighties the Norwegian government took up the idea, and in 2013 the tunnel finally managed to enter the National Transportation Plan. In 2021, Parliament gave the project the formal green light and talk began about the imminent start of works. But there was a problem: money. Lots of fights. The tunnel budget has been its biggest enemy. From the initial 267 million dollars it went to estimates of 325 million, then to 690 million in 2023 and finally to about 780 million dollars (around 8.6 billion Norwegian crowns) according to the most recent data. In October 2025 Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre announced the cancellation of the project within the framework of the presentation of the 2026 state budgets. “The cost will be so high that we consider it not responsible to continue with the project,” he declared then. The argument was that the country preferred to prioritize other areas, such as health, defense, or municipal investment, rather than assuming that expense. green light. The Støre Government did not have a majority in Parliament to impose the cancellation, and the pressure between the parliamentary opposition and that of more than 500 companies in the fishing, maritime, tourism and industrial sectors ended up tipping the balance. The center-left parties reached a budget agreement which includes financing to start construction. “We are ready to initiate the necessary processes to facilitate the start of works in early 2027,” counted Einar Vik Arset, director general of the Norwegian Coastal Administration (Kystverket). About 15 million dollars will be allocated for the initial phase, within a total budget estimated at around 888 million dollars (about 8.6 billion Norwegian crowns). How it will be built. “The selected contractor will then be able to begin preparations with the aim of starting works in early 2027,” assured Harald Inge Johnsen, project director. The Norwegian Coastal Administration has already evaluated the offers of three finalist consortiums: AF Gruppen, Eiffage Génie Civil and the consortium formed by Skanska and Vassbakk & Stol. If the schedule is met, the tunnel could be inaugurated around 2032. Of course, the excavation will require removing nearly three million cubic meters of rock and earth. Why it is unique in the world. Just like they point out Since El Confidencial, boat tunnels have existed since 1679, when the Malpas tunnel was opened on the French Canal du Midi. But all of them serve inland waterways (canals and ports) and have never been designed for ocean shipping traffic. The Stad Ship Tunnel will be the first in its category. According to estimates from the Norwegian Government itself, the infrastructure also promises to reduce fuel consumption and emissions by up to 60%, by eliminating long waits and forced detours around the peninsula. In Xataka | Building tunnels is very good, but in China there are regions that are doing other things: cutting mountains in half

Since we were children we have been told that Jupiter is enormous, colossal, exaggeratedly large. Turns out not so much.

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There are things that we learn in childhood that accompany us throughout our lives and one of them is to recite the Solar System at once, which has its disadvantages: for those of us who are already old, mentioning Pluto (which It is no longer a planet) either make mistakes when estimating distances interplanetary. Another classic misconception is the size of Jupiter. Data from the Juno mission published in Nature Astronomy They change the shape and size of the colossus of the Solar System. Jupiter is flatter and smaller than we thought. We knew that Jupiter was the largest planet in the Solar System, a gaseous colossus whose mass exceeded that of the rest of the planets combined, which gave it the power to be almost the conductor of the orchestra (with the permission of the Sun) as long as its gravity had a lot of weight. Its large magnetic shield protects its moons from solar radiation, it has iconic clouds and storms in astronomy and its Great Red Spot It exceeds the Earth in size. But there is something wrong with its shape and size. The Context. The missions Voyager and Pioneerdating back to the 1970s, established figures that today we read in science books: that Jupiter has an equatorial radius of 71,492 kilometers and a polar radius of 66,854 kilometers. With this model, the planet was assimilated as a sphere flattened at the poles (oblate spheroid). These dimensions were calculated with just six indirect measurements with profiles of radio occultation. The discovery. Because what Juno has seen shows that the equatorial radius is approximately 8 kilometers smaller and the polar radius is about 24 kilometers smaller than previous missions said. Qualitatively, Jupiter is flatter. The first thing that comes to mind is: How important are eight kilometers on a planet 140,000 kilometers wide? Well scientifically, it has it. In fact, it’s the difference between whether the laws of physics fit or not. Why is it important. Well, because although the difference is comparatively minor, the fact that it is smaller and has a flatter shape has thermodynamic implications. Thus, it suggests a colder atmosphere enriched with heavy elements that better suit what the Galileo probe measured in 1995. Additionally, having accurate geometry is essential to understanding what’s inside and interpreting the gravity data provided by Juno, so we can accurately map how its mass is distributed inside and how hydrogen behaves under extreme pressures. On the other hand, knowing Jupiter better is getting closer to the recipe of how the Earth was formed and going beyond: facilitating the understanding of thousands of other exoplanets giants that we are discovering in the stars. Radio occultation operation diagram. MPRennie Wikipedia Juno’s look. Both Pioneer and Voyager and Juno use radio occultation, that is, they use the same physical principle. The radio occultation technique consists of measuring how a planet’s atmosphere bends and slows down the radio signals of a probe when it is hidden behind it. By analyzing the delay and deviation of these waves from the Earth, the scientific team can precisely calculate the density and pressure and therefore the exact shape of the planet. Of course, from a technological point of view there has been half a century of evolution and it is noticeable in terms of quality due to its multiband operation, precision and repetition. Thus, the probes of the 70s mainly used one radio band while Juno uses two, which allows, among other things, to eliminate noise. Likewise, the original ones were passing missions in front of the planned June orbit, that is, we have gone from having six points to an almost complete map. And finally, ground-based tracking systems are night and day when it comes to measuring changes in frequency and signal arrival time. In Xataka | We have been deceived by the distances of the Solar System: the closest neighbor to Neptune is Mercury In Xataka | We knew that there was water on Mars, but not how much. It turns out that 3.37 billion years ago an ocean covered half the planet Cover | NASA Hubble Space Telescope

this is the colossal Cinturão das Águas

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In modern engineering, sometimes the most effective solution to a complex problem such as drought It is, in essence, moving water from where there is excess to where it is lacking. But when that distance involves crossing the arid yesErton Brazilian, the task becomes a pharaonic work. That is why there are many eyes on one of the most ambitious water infrastructures in Brazil: the Cinturão das Águas do Ceará (CAC). What is it about? Although this infrastructure can be greatly simplified and called an artificial river, the reality is that it is a complex canal system that work by gravity It is already close to 91% execution. Their objective is titanic, since with it they want to guarantee that the water reaches more than five million people in one of the areas with the greatest water stress in South America. Its magnitude. This is not a project that was born out of nowhere, but the CAC is the final and crucial section that connects with the São Francisco River integration project, considered the largest water infrastructure project in the country. The key to this new phase lies in the design chosen. According to data from the Secretariat of Water Resources of Ceará, the northern axis of the project starts from the Jati Dam from where the water runs through 145.3 km of canals crossing the Carini region. How it works. It is undoubtedly the most interesting part of this entire pharaonic work, since the system is based mainly on gravity. Unlike other transfers that require massive and constant pumping, with the associated energy cost, the design of the CAC It takes advantage of the topography through a combination of open canals, tunnels and siphons so that water flows “downhill” from Jati to Nova Olinda and other municipalities. Nourishing the watersheds. Although, as we have said before, this can be considered an artificial river, the reality is that we are facing a transfer canal. This means that its function is not only to carry water from A to B, but to act as an artery that connects the vital organs of Caerá’s water system. In this way, the water that travels through the belt does not remain stagnant, but is used to recharge other hydrographic basins, since the system is designed to pour flows into the large reservoirs in the region, such as the Castanhão (the largest in the state) and the Orós. Its impact. In this case, this infrastructure is directly expected to supply 561,000 inhabitants in 24 different municipalities. But the interesting thing is that, indirectly, by integrating with other water systems, supply can be ensured for more than five million people. What is clear in this case is that the authorities want to maintain human consumption as a priority to avoid chronic shortages in cities in the face of drought. From here it will give rise to industry and irrigated agriculture, which are economic drivers of regions that, as has been seen, are severely affected by the little rainfall they receive. A lifesaver. In the final stretch of 2025, this work has increased its speed and no wonder. With the forecast of the new drought cycles that are arriving in the regioninfrastructure has become very necessary to ensure the supply of the population. The good news is that the tests that have been carried out already confirm that the structure is functional. In this way, while the world debates water management in the 21st century, Brazil is about to turn the key to one of the largest open-air “pipes” on the continent. In June 2026, if the official schedule is met, the water from São Francisco will finally have a direct and safe path to the heart of Ceará. Images | SRH In Xataka | Spain’s great “battery” is at 117%: the reservoirs have so much water that the nuclear plants are being disconnected

Thousands of workers were needed to build the colossal Golden Gate. Just to maintain it you need 200 people

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There are few symbols as recognizable of the United States as the golden gatethat colossal orange bridge inaugurated in 1937 that crosses the San Francisco Bay. And no wonder: 1,280 meters of bridge hanging on two 227-meter-high towers with 600 thousand rivets each. It enters through the eyes and also, it also sounds. The subject of countless photographs and an extra in numerous films and series, it is also the place chosen by many people. to end his life. The colossal construction of the Golden Gate. When the Golden Gate opened almost a century ago, it was considered an architectural landmark that combined engineering and modernity. And no wonder: the work lasted more than four years, cost more than 35 million dollars (from the 1930s) and the construction techniques were cutting-edge. However, they faced challenges such as the turbulent currents, the hurricane winds and the dense fog in the area. Not to mention its proximity with the San Andreas and Hayward fault. One of the solutions was to make the structure of the Golden Gate something dynamic and not rigid, which allows it to better deal with wind and tide (literal). In addition, it is designed so that the two towers absorb the tension generated by the passage of vehicles through the suspension cables. One of those towers had to be built in the middle of the open ocean, something exceptional at the time. High turnover and a lot of security. Although its construction is carefully documented and there is an extensive graphic archive, there is no record of how many people worked on its construction beyond the fact that there were 10 contractors with their respective subcontractors, there was a lot of turnover (note: we were in the context of the Great Depression) and that at the peak of the work there were hundreds of men working, with critical roles such as structuralists, divers, spinners to weave the cables and painters and riveters. Unfortunately, 11 people died during this imposing construction. And this despite the fact that its chief engineer, Joseph Strauss, stood out for its commitment to job security: They installed a safety net under the bridge that would save those 19 workers who became part of the Halfway-to-Hell club (halfway to hell). 200 people for maintenance. Although the exact figure is unknown precisely due to the turnover and number of contractors, there are estimates which point to figures between 4,000 and 8,000 workers who participated directly in the construction between 1933 and 1937, which seems plausible. What is most striking is that for its maintenance about 200 workers are needed among engineering professionals, metal workers, painters, mechanics, electricians, communications technicians, street and garden maintenance, among others. The maintenance team. In the age of AI and automation, San Francisco Bridge Maintenance pulls trades with a multidisciplinary team led by a captain who oversees patrol activities 24 hours a day. As a curiosity, since 1937 there have been 11 captains. As a summary, these are the main positions and their functions: Painters and metal workers. They work at height and in confined spaces. They are responsible for painting, sandblasting old paint, and repairing corroded steel and rivets. Structural Engineers: They carry out visual and sensor inspections of each of the thousands of rivets and cables, in addition to ensuring the operation of the machinery. Safety and Traffic: With a flow of 100,000 vehicles daily, accidents and breakdowns are the order of the day. It is a 24/7 operational service to avoid collapsing the city. Why so many people. As we have seen in the previous point, maintenance logistics is specialized and has a certain complexity being at altitude, it requires always being available and the environment is aggressive. Paint the Golden Gate It has its own, hence it has its own section within the bridge website. To begin with, it is not painted every so often, but rather it is painted continuously and in parts. And maintenance is selective and based on priority: it is a battle against corrosion. The combination of the humidity of the Pacific and its high salinity is a ticking time bomb for steel. Although they chose the International Orange tone because of how well it integrates with the environment and its visibility, this paint protects the steel from UV rays and humidity. On the other hand, inspections of its expansion joints and seismic dampers are frequent to ensure that it can flex without breaking due to vibrations and earthquakes. In Xataka | More than 2,000 people had committed suicide at the Golden Gate. The solution has been as simple as it is shocking for those who throw In Xataka | In 1976 Boston built its most amazing skyscraper. Until its windows became lethal guillotines Cover | Photo of Maarten van den Heuvel in Unsplash

almost a million employees for a colossal project

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BYD surpassed 968,900 employees by the end of 2024, more than Tesla, Toyota, Ford, BMW and Renault combined. It is a figure that would be absurd for any traditional automaker, but it has a simple explanation: BYD is not just an automaker. Methodological note: This figure includes the entire BYD Group, not just BYD Auto. Unlike manufacturers that clearly separate their divisions, BYD operates as an integrated ecosystem where the majority of employees are directly or indirectly linked to the automotive business. The company does not publish a breakdown by division. Why is it important. The Chinese company has built the largest vertical integration ecosystem in the automotive industry worldwide. Tesla, for example, buys batteries from Panasonic and chips from third parties, but BYD manufactures absolutely everything in-house. Its business model covers four complete industrial sectors: The automobile division is only the most visible, but also manufactures electronics for Apple. And it produces batteries as the second largest manufacturer in the world. It also develops components from semiconductors to heat pumps. More than 110,000 of its employees work exclusively for Apple’s supply chain, assembling 30% of its iPhones and iPads. The BYD figure, as we said at the beginning, is for the entire BYD group, not just BYD Auto. Other manufacturers have their own nuances: Volkswagen’s 656,134 employees only include the automotive group (Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, Skoda, etc.), and not large divisions such as finance. However, it does include small divisions of components, such as engines or transmissions. The 389,144 employees of Toyota are only from Toyota Motor Corporation, it does not include Industries (components, textiles, forklifts, etc.), Aisin (transmissions, brakes), Denso (electronic components) or Boshoku (interiors). The complete Toyota ecosystem would be about 800,000 employees. The context. BYD applies a long vertical integration: They internally produce batteries, semiconductors, software, heat pumps, electric motors, control systems, fast charging and structural elements. This strategy allows them total quality control, cost reduction and speed of innovation superior to rivals that depend on external suppliers. Its eight factories in China have tens of thousands of workers. Each one. The Zhengzhou plant has 60,000 employees and plans to hire 20,000 more. Furthermore, they have created authentic “industrial cities“with housing, services, commercial establishments and sports facilities for workers. In figures. The numbers justify the strategy: Employee growth: 37.73% in 2024 (265,400 new workers). R&D personnel: 110,000 engineers, the largest in the automotive world. Cars sold: 4.27 million units in 2024. Go deeper. The contrast with its competitors is striking: Tesla laid off 15,000 employees in 2024. Ford plans to eliminate 4,000 jobs in Europe. Renault is considering laying off 3,000. BYD continues to increase its workforce. However, direct comparisons are complex due to the different business structures mentioned above. They have hired almost 50,000 recent college graduates in two years in China. In the rest of the world they are also advancing: they are building factories in Hungary (2,000 jobs), Mexico (10,000 planned jobs), Brazil, Thailand and Indonesia. Its expansion model, as we have already seen in Spaingoes through the total localization of the production chain. The question is whether this model is sustainable in the face of increasing automation. In fact, Tesla has clearly shown its approach to robotization, but BYD seems to prioritize the human factor for the moment. At least for its model of total control of the productive ecosystem. Featured image | Tiago Ferreira In Xataka | If the question is “would I pay 100,000 euros for a BYD” the answer is “recharges in five minutes.” And we will see them next year

Boadilla del Monte wants to be a pilgrimage place. So he has decided to build a 37 -meter colossal

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Boadilla del Monte is known by the Palacio del Infante Don Luisyour source of Three pipes or the Convent of the incarnation, among other monumentsbut if the plans of an association of Catholics in the area go ahead in a short time it will be for something different: an effigy colossal of Christ that will overcome in size a The famous figure that crowns the Cerro Corcovadoin Rio de Janeiro. Your drivers, yes, will have nothing easy. They need to raise 17 million of euros. Not only do they want their sculpture to be the largest of its kind. They aspire to be a representation based on The holy sheet and with a huge mobile heart. Breaking molds. Throughout the world there are many, many effigies of Jesus, but few as iconic as the Redeemer of Corcovado, in Rio de Janeiro, a huge monument of Around 30 meters high (almost 40if the pedestal is taken into account) that was inaugurated In 1931. In Spain there is, however, who wants to make the competition with an even greater monument: a sculpture of Christ with open arms of 37 m high and 60 wingspan. With you, the Christ of Boadilla. The initiative starts from the Association of Devotos Heart of Jesus of Boadilla, a Catholic group that He wants to lift in that municipality of the Madrid community “The Sacred Heart of the world”. Its intention is to build the effigy between M 50, the Financial City and M 501, on a field of public ownership. For now, They assurehave the Plecet of the City Council, which in 2019 approved the project No opposition. A colossal work of 17 million. The location is not, however, the largest challenge of the company. Its drivers calculate that to get it ahead they need close to 17 million euros16 for construction itself and the remaining million to face “the management, communication and financing of the project”. They also want to raise them through donations from individuals or private organizations, without public funds or any institution such as the Catholic Church. For the moment, Precise The worldthey are quite far from that figure: today their crowdfunding has managed to gather around 95,000 euros. An objective: June 2030. The association not only handles an approximate budget. On its website also includes A schedule How you want to carry out the project. The first phase of financing started at the beginning of the year and will run until February 2026 with the aim of leaving the sculptural project ready, the general preliminary project and starting the crowdfunding campaign. During that first stage they hope to gather 135,000 euros. The second aspires to add five million, will last until June 2028 and will focus on the architectural project and permits. The objective of the association is that the construction of the effigy can begin in mid -2027 and the works last for about three years. If the Planning, It could be inaugurated during June 2030. For this, it will be necessary to carry out the third phase of the financing, of 11.86 million. The collective Recognize in any case that are “self -imposed” deadlines. “Nothing will prevent anticipating the result or that it suffers some delay.” And how do you want to do it? The monument draws attention for its size (37 meters high and 60 of size), but also for its approach. Input and although the association acknowledges that it has not yet defined “the constructive phase”, its Initial idea It is that the effigy combines various materials: the trunk and head would be built with reinforced concrete and arms extended with fiberglass or carbon. The most striking thing is what there will be within the figure. The interior of the effigy can be visited and will include a huge golden heart of around 2.5 meters in diameter that will rise and fall during the day. “Every morning, when the first rays of the sun cross the sore of its side and illuminate the heart, it will slowly descend to the ground with a pulleys mechanism. Then, when the night falls, the heart will return to its anatomical position and retro-pile it will light and light up,” They explain From the association. “With scientific methods”. It is not the only surprise. To shape sculpture, those responsible have decided to take as a reference a symbol of Christianity: Turin’s shroud. “The Holy sheet will be our guide to model sculpture and rebuild with scientific methods the true face of the man who left his mark on the canvas,” they claim. “The wounds and the site of the side will become cracks for which the light will cross the monument. The music will accompany us during our visit and we will listen to the heartbeat.” Your goal, emphasize The association is to create “a world pilgrimage place”, joins huge effigy that becomes the largest “largest heart in the world”. The nuance is important because if we talk about Christ’s sculptures, in general, there are much greater monuments. Not long ago Indonesia inaugurated a colossal statue of the “Salvador” of about 60 meters high In the same country there is another effigy, Buntu Burakearound 40 m. Images | Heart of Jesus Boadilla In Xataka | Cáceres is building a gigantic Buddhist statue 47 meters high (for some reason)

The CERN prepares a colossal bet by 2070. Some physicists believe it can take it to ruin

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Santiago Folgueras is a young Spanish physicist who is leading an interesting project in CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research). During The conversation I had with him Several months ago he told me in detail What is your Intrepid projectwhich will be linked to the future HL LHC (High Luminosity Large Hadron Collider or high luminosity LHC). However, what caught my attention was the enthusiasm with which he told me about FCC (future circular colliding), which will be the machine that will presumably happen to HL LHC. If the itinerary that has planned the CERN continues its course as has done so far the HL LHC will be ready at the end of this decade. In 2030. and will be able to produce no less than 40 million collisions per second. The amount of information that will generate will be so huge that it will be necessary to put a system that is able to analyze the data in real time and make a decision regarding the collision that has just been produced. This is precisely the purpose of the HL LHC: drastically increase the number of collisions if we compare them with those that have occurred in the previous LHC iterations. The luminosity measures, in fact, how many potential particle collisions are produced by surface and time unit. It is measured in reverse femtobarns, so that each of them is equivalent to 100 billion collisions between protons. Of course, these are billion on a long scale, so an reverse femtobarn are 100 million million collisions. FCC design is under discussion Since the accelerator experiments began, in 2010, until the end of 2018, which was the moment in which its activity ceased, 150 reverse femtobarns occurred inside. According to the current planning of CERN technicians, the modifications required by LHC to increase its luminosity should be able to produce 250 reverse femtobarns every year until reaching 4,000 during the entire period of activity. The purpose of CERN physicists is that the FCC is able to reach a 100 tev energy during the second stage of the project In any case, the most interesting is to remember that the improvements that CERN technicians are introducing in the LHC respond to the need to find fissures in the standard model with the purpose of Expand our understanding of the world of particles. Some of the questions that CERN’s physicists have the hope of being able to answer with the help of HL LHC are what it is and what properties it has The dark matterbecause Neutrinos have mass And why There is no antimatter In the universe. There is no doubt that they are exciting questions. However, CERN’s physicists plan does not end the LHC HL. When all its operation cycles finally conclude this institution plans to build the FCC, an accelerator much larger than the LHC HL and capable of reaching much higher energies. Presumably will have a circle of 100 km (that of the current LHC measures 27 km), and its construction will start in 2038. The purpose of CERN physicists is that the FCC is capable of reaching during the second stage of the project an energy of 100 TEV (Telelectronvoltios). To train a precise idea about what we are talking about we just have to remember that the current LHC works with an energy of 16 TEV. If everything goes as scheduled, the FCC should be prepared not beyond 2070. According to the CERN, the first phase of the project, which does not the complete plan, will cost about 17,000 million dollars. Vladimir Shiltsev, a physicist specialized in accelerators at the University of Northern Illinois (USA), calculates that the entire project will cost At least 30,000 million dollars. According to Nature Some physicists, such as Jenny List, a researcher in the Hamburg Electron Syntron (Germany), criticize this plan and defend the construction of a linear accelerator of up to 33 km instead of a circular one. According to them, the linear option will be much cheaper and will allow the same experiments as a circular installation. We will see why option finally opt, but there is no doubt that these discussions are necessary to make the right decisions. Scientists still have plenty of time to weigh everything and direct the project by the most conducive path. Image | Piotr Traczyk/Cern More information | Nature In Xataka | The CERN has an ambitious plan: it wants to demolish the special theory of Einstein’s relativity

Spain will fine those who do not flute the contents generated with AI. It is a colossal technical and regulatory challenge

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If you have generated a text, an audio or a video with AI, it will be better than tagged. Otherwise you could expose yourself to a really important fine. It is the conclusion of the draft law that the Council of Ministers approved yesterday, and is especially oriented to avoid the risks of The Deepfakes. The Pope and the Alarms. In March 2023 it became viral An Deepfake of Pope Francis carrying a theoretical coat of Balenciaga. That triggered the alarms of the European Union, which launched the AI ​​law, approved by the European Parliament on March 13, 2024 and that He entered into force Months later, on August 1. Now Spain adapts that law for a clear purpose. Spain against the Deepfakes.The Minister of Digital Transformation and Public Function, Óscar López, explained that “AI is a very powerful tool, which can be used to improve our lives or to spread bulos and attack democracy.” Do not tag AI contents, severe infraction. This bill considers as a serious infraction not comply with the labeling of texts, videos or audios generated with AI to identify them of adequate froma. It is something that the EU has been insisting since June 2023, but there are two problems: that almost no one is doing it at the moment. Colossal fines. The minister did not specify how to perform that labeling, and according to his words, It will be Aesia the one that puts the rules for that labeling. As already established by the AI ​​Law, breaching the regulations raised fines of up to 35 million euros and/or between 5 and 7% of the worldwide turnover of the offender company. Initiatives to label: have them, there are. The need to label texts, images, videos and audios is evident, but for now there is no universal and accepted alternative. Google proposed its own solution In May 2023 and I rowed it in October 2024 With Synthidwhich can be applied even in short texts and is already used by Gemini. Adobe too He threw himself soon To try to solve the problem. Goal has its own Water marks for audios generated by Ia. Even Openai joined the effort With a combo of a Cr symbol (“Content credentials“, also driven by adobe) visible and an invisible water mark in the images generated with AI. The C2PA standard architecture makes it clear how each content adds metadata that indicates the steps in which it has been edited and how, including possible uses of AI. Source: C2PA. The C2PA standard and the search for consensus. The most remarkable proposal in this regard is that of the standard C2PA (Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity). This coalition manages technologies such as the aforementioned Content Credential Specification To label content generated spor ia. Many of the main companies are in that group, including Openai, Amazon, Google, Meta or Microsoft, but there is a great absence: Apple, which (inexplicably) does not seem to pronounce on this regard. Where are AI labels? Although the labeling technology is there, it has not just been widely used. There are isolated cases: goal began to label images On Instagram or Facebookbut that’s having problems To perform that labeling, which is tried to apply to already published content. YouTube too He has taken steps In that sense and Google begins to implement it In your search engine and your ads. Even manufacturers such as Sony or Leica label their photos in some of their cameras. Label everything, whether or not done with ia. Ideally (utopia?) It would be that any content was labeled in two ways: either it is made with the assistance of AI, or is it a content in which the AI ​​has not helped. We have the perfect example in the camera apps of our mobiles with Android or iOS: those images and videos should be labeled with something similar to a “content without ia”, for example. This is what Sony or Leica cameras pose, but imposes a huge problem for the entire hardware and software segment. We need adoption to shoot. Companies seem to be clear that something like this is necessary and reasonable, but starting it is being a especially long and complex process. Cryptographic labeling is probably the best option to prevent Deepfakes from becoming an even more important threat, but here is a decisive step: that companies adopt these measures. Even if it is little by little. In Xataka | The companies of AI have been jumping the copyright for years. They have just suffered a disturbing legal defeat

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