dark

We have been searching for dark matter for 90 years. Now a Japanese man believes he has found his “fingerprint”

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Since Fritz Zwicky suggested the existence of dark matter in 1933, the reality is that it has been one of the great ghosts of modern physics, generating many debates about its existence. The little we know indicates that this matter is there because we see how its gravity pushes galaxiesbut we have never been able to see it or touch it. It is invisible. Or at least, that’s what we believed until now. And to ‘see’ this matter you have to be a true superhero, since it does not emit, absorb or reflect light. Something that makes it completely invisible to telescopes around the world. But it is not something that is a small part of what surrounds us, but which makes up 85% of the total matter in the universe. But now there is hope to have more information about this great mystery of physics thanks to a study Professor Tomonori Totani of the University of Tokyo claims to have found the first direct evidence of this elusive substance. He has not seen it directly with his own eyes, but he has detected the “smoke” of his gun: a very specific gamma ray signal emanating from the halo of our own Milky Way and that eerily coincides with theoretical predictions of how dark matter behaves. A large amount of data. To understand the discovery, you have to look at the sky with gamma ray eyes. Totani has used a total of 15 years of data accumulated by NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (LAT). But the important thing was undoubtedly knowing where to look: in the galactic halo. That is, the ‘quiet’ outskirts of the Milky Way, excluding the galactic disk to avoid interference. What he found when cleaning the background noise was surprising: an excess of gamma rays with a very specific energy peak, located at 20 billion electron volts (20 GeV). The importance. So far so good, but… Why is it important? Basically, because it doesn’t fit what we would expect from normal astrophysical sources, like pulsars or supernova remnants. However, it fits like a glove for the WIMP theory. This is a theory that basically suggests that dark matter It is made up of WIMPs (Weakly Interacting Massive Particles). According to physical models, when two of these particles collide, they annihilate each other, releasing a cascade of energy in the form of gamma rays that would be detected in the universe now. And that is their conclusion: the detected signal is compatible with WIMP particles that have a mass of 500 times that of a proton. This would, therefore, be the fingerprint that gives the most information about dark matter, although it does not stop there. The shape is not a point on the map, but a soft, spherical halo that surrounds the galaxy, just as dark matter is distributed in the cosmological simulations that physics has made. The same goes for consistency, since the signal persists even when different background models are used and other known sources of noise in the universe are removed. There are precedents. This isn’t the first time someone has yelled “Eureka!” In the past, excess gamma rays have been detected at the Galactic Center (known as GCE), but the scientific community has tended to think that this signal comes from undetected millisecond pulsars, rather than dark matter. The key to Totani’s study is that he has looked where no one was looking in such detail. By moving away from the center and analyzing the diffuse halo, it is where he has found a much cleaner signal that does not invite so many doubts about its origin. There are still doubts. The study itself admits that the calculated cross section (the probability of interaction) is higher than the upper levels established by the observation of dwarf galaxies, which are often used as scale for dark matter. This means two things: either our models of the density of dark matter in the Milky Way are incorrect (which is possible, since there is a lot of uncertainty in the profile of the halo), or we are looking at a new and unknown astrophysical phenomenon that mimics dark matter. A great mystery. If this finding is confirmed, we would be facing one of the greatest discoveries in physics of the 21st century. It would confirm that dark matter is composed of particles that we can detect (and not primordial black holes) and open a new door for physics. go beyond the standard model. But as we say, this still needs to be verified by a second laboratory such as the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO) that may have the ability to detect these gamma ray spectral lines. Image | A. Schaller (STScI) In Xataka | Exactly 100 years ago we began to understand how the world works. Quantum physics has radically changed our lives

Convenience stores were an emblem of Japan. Until the demographic crisis has revealed the dark side of opening 24 hours

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The stores japanese convenienceknown as konbini, are not simple shops where you buy fast food or basic products, they are a deep part of the social fabric of the country. Its success is measured not only in numbers (more than 55,000 establishments spread across the 47 prefectures) but in the way in which they accompany daily life: they allow you to pay bills, send packages, print documents, buy tickets for shows, resolve unforeseen events, take refuge in case of emergency or simply take a break in them. And now that the country doesn’t stop agingthe stores are mortally wounded. The konbini. Let’s think that, in urban neighborhoods, rural towns or isolated coastal areas, these establishments have become the minimum infrastructure indispensable where there used to be post offices, banks or small family businesses that have now disappeared. The store, therefore, is not just a business: it is a safe space, open and available 24 hours a day, an emotional and logistical support point that has shaped the Japanese daily rhythm and has captivated even to millions of touristswho find in these establishments a mix of efficiency, warmth and aesthetic thoroughness that is difficult to replicate. Efficiency and expansion. I remembered the new york times in summer that the development of the Japanese konbini has been the result of an evolution of decades. Since 7-Eleven opened your first store In Japan in 1974, the combination of non-stop hours, quality fresh food (onigiri, bentō, noodles, seasonal desserts) and integrated services made the model a unique phenomenon. For many residents, these stores are literally the closest store, the most accessible ATM, the place to go when something is missing or something happens. The associated image is one of precision: perfectly organized shelves, impeccable coffee machines, attentive employees, continually renewed food and a sense of total availability. From Japan to the world. This internal success was projected outwards, so that 7-Eleven, today Japanese owned, is the largest retail chain on the planet, and global expansion plans aim mainly to North America. The konbini became an exportable image of Japan: efficient, friendly, reliable. The hidden reverse. But not everything shined the same. one piece from the Financial Times has revealed that behind that facade of functional perfection A franchise system is under increasingly intense tensions. Japan agesthe active population is decreasing and small businesses are experiencing increasing difficulties to hire staff. The model requires stores open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and the pressure not to close falls squarely on the owners. He Akiko’s case and her husband, a 7-Eleven manager who worked without a day’s rest for six months until dying by suicide, starkly revealed the human price of this silent perfection. And more. It was not an isolated case: a labor inspection recognized the relationship between death and overwork, but the root of the problem is structural. Franchisees must deliver between 40% and 70% of gross profit to the parent company, which reduces their margin and exposes them to absorbing personnel, overtime and unforeseen charges. Visible efficiency therefore has an invisible cost. The crisis of the model. Faced with the problem, the chains 7-Eleven, FamilyMart and Lawson have tried make schedules more flexibleintroduce automatic checkouts, ordering systems assisted by AI and robots cleaning to reduce the need for labor. But none of these measures solve the main equation: fewer available workers and more opening hours supported by fewer people. Domestic consumption is also not growing as before, which limits the owners’ ability to increase payrolls. As minimum wages rise, margins narrow even more. many managers they work for free for dozens of hours to keep their stores open. Some they confess that, in the current state, closing would be a more rational option than continuing to operate. The fragility of the system thus becomes visible: if there are no new franchisees willing to take over, the model can collapse. Adaptation or goodbye. The response of the companies points towards a profound transformation of the model. 7-Eleven study contracts renewed from 2027, possibly moving towards the “mega-franchise” model, where the same owner manages multiple stores and distributes human resources between them. However, this implies a concentration of the business and could further displace the small independent owners who historically defined the konbini as a community space. The central question is whether the konbini will continue to be a connected capillary network to the territory or whether it will become a centralized corporate system, more profitable but less close. The great dilemma. If you will, the konbini was born as proximity symbol and frictionless service, and became part of emotional memory from Japan: open places when everything else is closed, spaces where the daily routine has a friendly pause. But that same ideal has been held for decades by people whose efforts they have become invisible beneath the surface of efficiency. Today, the system faces a limit that is not technological, but human. The future of the konbini will depend on whether Japan manages to rebalance the contract between the community, the company and those who keep the doors open at any time, 365 days a year. If it manages to adapt without sacrificing those who support it, it will continue to be an intimate and essential institution. If not, it could become the emblem of a society that knew how to take care of every detail… except for the people who made it possible. Image | Pexels, Japanexperterna, Shankar S. In Xataka | While half the planet aspires to retire, in Japan the opposite is true: 100-year-olds who only want to work In Xataka | The aging population and a poor pension system have a new symbol in Japan: grandmothers are rented

They used dark patterns to make users pay more

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At the end of last year Microsoft made a risky move: integrate Copilot within Microsoft 365 and raise the price of the subscription without the option to deactivate it. What we saw at the time as a desperate attempt to attract more users for Copilot has ended up in court. Australia has sued them for allegedly deceiving 2.7 million users. what has happened. They count in Reuters that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has sued Microsoft. It maintains that the company misled its users into believing that they had to accept the price increase for Microsoft 365 with Copilot. Microsoft presented the change as something mandatory: either you accept the price increase or you unsubscribe. However, there was a third option that only appeared when you tried to unsubscribe and allowed you to maintain the original plan without Copilot. Imposition. It happened in 2024 in Australia and other Southeast Asian countries. Microsoft 365 subscribers suddenly found that Microsoft had integrated Copilot. Everything was fine except that it wasn’t free. The personal plan had an increase of 45%, while the family plan increased 29%. The problem is that Microsoft did not inform that it was possible to stay with the classic plan (without Copilot). This option only appeared if you tried to unsubscribe, so many users accepted it without knowing that this option existed. Consequences. The Australian commission says that Microsoft violated the consumer protection law and demands “penalties, consumer compensation, injunctions and costs.” The maximum fine you could face is 50 million Australian dollars, which would be triple the profit obtained. If profits cannot be determined, it would be 30% of the turnover during the infringement period. Dark patterns. They are manipulation techniques that websites and apps use so that users end up making decisions that benefit the company behind them. a couple of years ago In Spain, a marketing company was fined for using dark patterns to give up more personal data. We also find it in websites like Ryanair or Booking that bombard us to take out insurance or book that hotel because availability is running out. AI doesn’t pay for itself. Microsoft’s move highlights the problem of the AI ​​industry: the investment is hugebut the return is very small. Subscriptions are a way to make your investment profitable and now are the norm in AI tools, some even cost 200 dollars or more. Microsoft is having a difficult time standing out in an increasingly competitive environment, but its attempt to gain users for Copilot without being transparent has ended up backfiring. Images | Microsoft, Wikipedia In Xataka | AI always wanted us to pay to access its advanced versions. His plan now is for us to pay… For using it a lot

We had been believing that dark matter existed. A new study believes that we were wrong

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For decades, cosmology has been sustained on a pillar as fundamental as mysterious: The dark matter. The invisible glue that, according to the standard model, keeps galaxies together and prevents the stars from being fired by centrifugal force.Represents 27% of the universebut it has a problem: nobody has seen or detected it. It only trusts that it will be there. But now A published study in Galaxies This conception of the concept has changed. The study. Research led by the physicist Rajendra P. Gupta From the University of Ottawa proposes an idea as elegant as radical: what if dark matter does not really exist? According to his work, this ghost component could actually be an ‘illusion’, a side effect caused by something we were assumed: that the fundamental constants of nature are ‘constant’. The importance. To understand the magnitude of this proposal you must first remember the origin of the problem. Specifically, we have to go to the 70s, where astronomer Vera Rubin noticed that the stars at the edges of the galaxies revolved at the same speed those of the center. This completely challenged Newton’s laws, something that is as if a person sitting on the outer edge spinning at the same speed as a sitting near the axis. Physically, it should be triggered. The solution that the scientific community adopted was the existence of a “dark matter”, an invisible mass that generates the extra gravity necessary to maintain cohesive galaxy. This concept became the cornerstone of the cosmological model known as ΛCDM (Lamda-Cold Dark Matter). This model works incredibly well to explain the large -scale universe, but after searches with ultrasensitive detectors and experiments in the LHC We have not found a single particle of dark matter. It has always ‘detected’ indirectly through its gravitational effect on visible objects. The proposal. This is where Gupta’s idea enters. Its model, called CCC + TL (Covarying Couplening Constants + Tirad Light), is based on two different ideas. The first one is the so -called ‘Covriant coupling constants’ (CCC). In this case, the model suggests that the fundamental constants of physics, such as the speed of light (c) or the universal gravitation constant (G), are not fixed. Instead, they evolve and change as the universe expands. This is not a completely new idea (the physicist Paul Dirac already flirted with her), but Gupta integrates it into a complete cosmological model. The second idea raised in the investigation is that of ‘tired light’. A concept that arrives directly from the old hypothesis of ‘tired light’, which postulates that light loses energy throughout its trip through the cosmos. In this case, the Gupta model suggests that the redness of the light of the distant galaxies is not only due to the expansion of the universe but to a combination of both effects. Although the “tired light” as the only explanation, has been widely refuted, its inclusion in this hybrid model is key to its calculations. New terms. Once these two new ideas are taken into account, it is time to modify Einstein’s field equations with these variable constants, the GUPTA model makes new mathematical terms appear. This is something that the author has baptized as “α-material” and “α-energy.” And this is where it is true magic: these terms, which are not a physical substance but an effect of the evolution of the laws of physics, generate the extra gravitational attraction that until now we attributed to dark matter. Dark matter would not be something to find, but a mathematical mirage. It is tested. Something to keep in mind is that theories can be very well written and look very good on paper, but logically they have to demonstrate. For this, Gupta used the SPARC database, a high quality catalog with the rotation curves of 175 galaxies. The method used was the reverse to the traditional. Instead of adding dark matter to justify rotation curves, Gupta took the curves observed and used its model to “subtract” the effect of “α-material”. The result should be the rotation curve generated only by visible (barionic) matter. Something that has wanted to materialize in a graphic taking as an example the NGC3198 galaxy. In this image, the blue line (VO) is the rotation speed observed in the galaxy. The points line (VB) is the speed that should have if only the visible matter existed, according to the estimates of SPARC and the discontinuous line (VBX) is the prediction of visible matter calculated by the GUPTA model. The similarity between the prediction of its model and the estimation of barionic matter is remarkable. Something that the author repeated for several galaxies with promising results to give a very forceful conclusion. A new paradigm. If the CCC+TL model is correct, its implications are huge. Not only would it eliminate the need for dark matter, but, according to the author, it could also explain dark energy and other cosmological enigmas, such as why the first galaxies Observed by James Webb They seem more mature than they should. You have to be cautious. This is, for now, a “proof of concept” as the author himself points out. This means that it is using simplifications, such as treating galaxies as perfect spheres, something that is far from reality in the universe. In addition, its dependence on “tired light” is a friction point with conventional cosmology. Models such as this should demonstrate that they can explain with the same precision as λCDM Key observations such as microwave background radiation or the accelerated expansion of the universe. A new advance. But what is clear with this research is that the scientific community is exploring alternatives, especially when the predominant model presents fissures, such as the absence of a direct proof of dark matter. The Gupta model is, for now, a fascinating possibility. A reminder that in science, the most entrenched truths can be questioned and that the solution to the greatest mysteries of the universe might not be to find something new, but in … Read more

O Solve these four big problems as soon as possible or Intel will be condemned to a very dark future

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“I think it is too late for us (to achieve the position of Nvidia in the field of artificial intelligence), Although we have other opportunities in this market (…) twenty or thirty years ago we were leaders. Now the world has changed. We are not among the ten main semiconductor companies. We have to be humble. ” These words of Lip-Bu Tanthe general director of Intel, are aimed at the company’s employees in a clear attempt to expose what challenges they face. The challenges with Those who are dealing Intel They exceed the other challenges that he has faced during his more than half a century of history. The leadership that has sustained for decades in the manufacturing industry of integrated circuits is in the hands of The Taiwanese company TSMC Since the mid -2000s. In addition, the stagnation during the last years of the PC market and the slowness with which Intel has participated in the AI industry have placed it in a very compromised position. It is necessary to compete from you to compete again with AMD. Intel and AMD compete on several fronts. Three of the most important are the processors for servers and work stations, the GPUs for artificial intelligence and the CPUs for PC. The company led by Lisa supports a very solid position in these three market segments, and if we stick to CPU for PC enthusiasts During the last generations it has been very successful among users. In fact, to us your chips Ryzen 7000 and 9000 We love. In this Intel scenario you have no choice but to fight from you with AMD and recover a technological leadership that lost a long time ago. His future is in the hands of lithography 18a. Intel’s short -term competitiveness is closely linked to the success of a single semiconductor manufacturing technology: 18A photolithography. Ben Sell, Vice President of Intel Technology Development, confirmed At the end of last September that the 18A node already has the maturity necessary to enter large -scale production in 2025. and also assured that it will benefit from the resources that have been reallocated since the 20A node. In the current scenario the 18A node will be the true protagonist. That is not the slightest doubt. The 18A node already has the necessary maturity to enter large -scale production in 2025 The internal division should be left behind. The possibility that the Board of Directors of Intel decides to split the chips manufacturing subsidiary of the company’s matrix and put it in the hands of another company has triggered a deep internal division in the company. Joseph Bonetti, main manager of Intel engineering programs, expresses it in this way: “Intel leaders, Board of Directors of Intel and Donald Trump administration, please do not sell or give the control of Intel Foundry to TSMC just when Intel is taking the technological front and starting to take off. It would be a terrible and demoralizing error.” Bonetti also maintains that Intel is not lagging for its competitors, and that the advances that their engineers are achieving in the field of chips production are very important. Lip-Bu must recover government confidence. Lip-bu Tan, the general director of Intel, is in a very compromised position. Before arriving at the company that Cadence Design Systems currently led, an American company specialized in the development of software and hardware tools to design and verify integrated circuits. The problem is that just a month ago, in July, the US Department of Justice condemned her to pay a fine of more than 140 million dollars for selling commercial secrets to China. According to this US institutionCadence Design Systems delivered this critical information to the National University of Defense Technology, a Chinese teaching and research center that is supervised by the Chinese army. Lip Bu-Tan Intel leads since March 2025but there is a crucial fact that we should not overlook: although this conflict has taken it out of Cadence Design Systems directed this company between 2009 and 2021. And this was the period in which According to the US Department of Justice There were export control violations by which this company has recently been convicted. Image | Intel In Xataka | Intel has confirmed that the 20A node will be skipped to reduce expenses. The 18A node will enter production in 2025

Now it has become more dark

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Does somewhat less than four months we wrote About the alarming situation that Simón Pérez and Silvia Charro were living, and how they were broadcasting the self -destruction of the first live, before the row of more than 30,000 followers who enjoy the show. The thing has gone worse, including platform expulsions, but as time passes, it is clear who can be the main responsible for the terrible situation we are living minute by minute. What happened. In that article we already talked about the fall of the two ex-economicists, who jumped to fame for the legendary video of fixed type mortgagesand that shortly after, unable to recover their traditional work, they were plunged into a Virtual challenges spiral in which they received money and drugs in exchange for obeying their followers. After a failed business attempt With the cultivation of marijuana, they only had to chain directly selling in exchange for anything. The extreme of the content they were developing led them to be quickly expelled from YouTube. After several strikes they also left Twitch and ended in Kick, where the moderation rules are extremely permissive. Finally, and given the Cariz that the last directs of Silvia and Simón have taken, they have also been expelled. From bad to worse. Eight years have passed since the video that gave the gun to everything, and the thing has only gone worse: Silvia Charro maintains a toxic relationship with Simon but barely appears in the direct ones on the only platform that until two days ago allowed this content, Kick. And Simon is in a spiral of self -destruction and absolute humiliation at the request of his followers who have been shooting all alarms for months. It was recorded Going to the Cañada Real to buy drugsI often lost control of what I said liveyour body He sent serious warnings and came to faint live. In Your most extreme videoshortly before the expulsion of Kick, delirba and it was hard for him to breathe. It should be remembered that all this content is requested by its followers as a challenges and change of money, for amounts that can reach the three figures. Drugs are also bought by their followers (we insist, without any limit for access to minors), which often make them take them to the home. And more. They are just some of the atrocities that Simon has perpetrated to enjoy his followers. According to Jimina Sabadú in the country“A vomiting cube on the head has been overturned. He has drunk his own urine. He has smeared his body with a cold lasagna, and has bitten that same lasagna when he already had mold. Everything in exchange for small quantities that sometimes becomes three figures. This money uses it in buying crack, cocaine, ketamine, heroin, energy drinks, sometimes a little happiness.” Kick’s problems. Kick is the last redoubt for Streamers that have been expelled from other platforms for their behavior or the type of content they make. And not just that: Kick allows and promotes the streaming of casinos and bets onlineunlike Twitch, where this type of content is restricted. In Kick, moderation is much more lax, which allows the existence of content such as the Silvia and Simon or Streamers channel such as Aldin Ross. And of course, all this completely accessible to minors without any control. In addition, there is the problem of bets: in Spain, the platforms they offer Sports bets and online casino games. But Kick is linked to a cryptocase without a Spanish license And it is less strict in terms of regulation and content, which adds an additional problem to all the murky business that surrounds Simón and Silvia. New cancellation. From this weekend, Kick canceled Finally the SSCONEXION accountbut Silvia and Simón already have a new account in Rumble, another Platform without barely restrictionsco -founded by conservative millionaires like Peter Thiel, who are shielding in the idea of freedom of expression, a little in the style of what Elon Musk did with Twitter. The result: barely moderation and total freedom for the direct grotesques of Simon, which before itself has few options: the decentralized Bitchute, the based on blockchain odysee technology and also completely free and without censorship D.Tube. The Challenge streamers that accept challenges of their audience that go from the culinary to Atlético abound, but no one had reached the extremes of Simon and Silvia. Gone is Simon’s voluntary incomea little less than a month ago, in a psychiatric center for its own will. Currently, the descent spiral continues, and there is less and less to reach the bottom. In Xataka | Mrbeast wanted to discover the Mayan culture in a video with millions of visits: Mexico has threatened to sue him

A third of Spain will be completely dark for one or two minutes. The astronomical event of the century is approaching

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We still have the healthy envy of seeing the Spectacular images of the total solar eclipse that toured Mexico, the United States and Canada just over a year ago. It was an event that paralyzed a continent, especially in the so -called “totality strip”, the areas that were completely dark. Well, the next great cosmic appointment has Spain as a global protagonist. And we will not have to wait long. August 12, 2026. In just over a year the first total visible solar eclipse will take place since 1905, a unique opportunity in more than a century. Together with Iceland, which will enjoy 58 seconds of totality, we will be the only country in the world that can see all the phases of the eclipse. And let’s be sincere: in the middle of August, our possibilities of having clear skies are considerably greater than those of the Icelanders. Context. A total eclipse occurs when the moon aligns perfectly between the sun and the earth, projecting a shadow that immerses the lucky ones in a twilight darkness in the middle of the day. In the 2026 event, this shadow, the strip of totality, will have about 300 kilometers wide and will cross Spain from west to east, from Galicia to the Balearic Islands. The autonomous communities that will be under the shadow cone of the totality are Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, Castilla y León, the Basque Country, La Rioja, Aragón, Catalonia, the Valencian Community and the Balearic Islands. Madrid will be right on the edge, with a fleeting totality in the north of the region. But the rest of the country will not stay empty and witness a very partial partial eclipse, with a coverage of more than 90% (and up to 74% in the Canary Islands, with Lanzarote as the island with better seats for the show). Almost two minutes. An essential tool to plan the observation of the eclipse to the millisecond is the Xavier Jubier interactive map. This resource is the gold standard for eclipses hunters because it allows you to click anywhere on the map to obtain the exact hours of each phase, the duration of the totality, the altitude of the sun in the area … The eclipse will start just before sunset. The totality phase will take place around 20:30 (summer peninsular time), with the sun already very low on the horizon. This turns observation into a race to counterreloj against sunset. In cities like Oviedo, the totality will last 1 minute and 48 seconds, only a few more moments in Burgos, León or the Island of Mallorca, which is emerging as one of the most tourist places where to see the eclipse (with the disadvantage that the sun is put before in the peninsular northwest). Safety first. As much as I tempt us, look directly in the sun, even partially eclipsed, can cause permanent eye damage. During all partial phases (before and after the totality), it is necessary to wear certified glasses to see eclipses or indirect methods to observe it. For the rest, it will be enough to look for a high observation place, with a horizon clear of mountains or buildings to the west so as not to miss the one that will undoubtedly be the astronomical event of the century. In Xataka | Mars eclipses are ridiculous compared to ours. The reason is an extraordinary numerical chance

We have a new explanation for dark matter. We have found it in superconductivity

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Dark matter remains one of the great mysteries that intrigue astrophysicists around the world. The existence of this matter is assumed by the generally accepted cosmological models, but when determining the nature of the elusive matter we only have more or less founded conjectures and speculation. A new explanation. A group of researchers has proposed a new mathematical model which offers an explanation of the nature and origin of dark matter. The origin of this matter would be in the Big Bangas a consequence of the collision of high -energy and no mass particles, which would have won a great mass after their union. “Dark matter began its life as relativistic particles with hardly any mass, almost like light,” pointed in a press release Robert Caldwell, co -author of the study. “It is totally antithetical about what is usually believed to be dark matter (…). Our theory tries to explain how it was light to become masses.” Perhaps the most important detail in this work is that the theory postulated by this team can be tested thanks to the cosmic microwave background (CMB). The dark matter. The Dark matter It is the proposed explanation to explain a series of anomalies observed in the movement of the great objects of the observable universe as galactic galaxies and clusters. If we analyze their movements and compare them with the models used to describe them, such as the theory of relativity, we encounter that something does not match. Something seems to be pulling the matter. The dark matter would be different from the conventional or barionic in the fact that it would not interact with the rest of known physical particles except in one way: through gravity. That is why it would be so elusive despite the fact that its gravitational influence is still apparent. According to estimates, dark matter represents 85% of the matter of the universe. Return to Big Bang. The new proposed hypothesis Point out that fast particles, similar to photons, were the ones that dominated the universe after the “burst” of the big Bang. However, in that initial “chaos”, these particles would have joined in pairs. As postulate, the spin, one of the properties of the subatomic particles, would have exerted magnet among these particles: as if it were objects with opposite poles, the opposite spins of the particles would have caused the fusion. The hypothesis also proposes that, when these particles are cooling over time, the “imbalance in its spins” would have caused a drastic reduction in its energy, resulting in cold and heavy particles, dark matter. The “inspiration” for this model would have come from an analogous phenomenon seen in electrons, in the Cooper’s pairs, which allows electrical conduction without resistance, superconductivity. The details of the study were published In an article In the magazine Physical Review Letters. Putting the theory to the test. One of the great strengths of this hypothesis is that it is possible to test it. The key is that, according to the model, this “non -relativistic mass condensate” would decide faster than the standard scenario predicts. Explains the team that this prediction can be tested thanks to the cosmic microwave background, a type of radiation remnant Big Bang. In Xataka | The Euclid European telescope is already historical: its first data revalidates Einstein and put the dark matter on the map Image | A. Schaller (STSCI)

In 2021 Texas stayed in the dark for days. Politicians blamed the wind, but the culprit was an old acquaintance

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The story occurred in February 2021when a historic winter storm that affected much of the state of Texas generated the last great electric blackout. Between February 13 and 17, extremely low temperatures and adverse weather conditions caused the disconnection of more than 4.5 million homes and business, some for several days. The event is considered one of the blackouts more serious in history Modern of the United States, so much that politics tried to take advantage of the “guilty.” The mirage of the wind. As we said, in February 2021, Texas lived one of the most serious energy crises in its modern history, when a winter storm paralyzed a good part of the state, causing massive power cuts, dozens of deaths and extreme conditions that affected millions. In the midst of chaos, the governor Greg Abbott appeared on national television (in Sean Hannity program, in Fox News) to directly hold the renewable energies of collapse, and especially wind. In a sharp statement, he said that the ruling showed that the State and the country continued to need fossil fuels to guarantee the winter supply. However, the accusation, repeated by other leaders conservatives and related media, not only It was wrong but deeply interested, because the data showed that the main person in charge of the collapse had been … Natural gas, not the wind. The Texas Network and its fragility. Texas has a unique electrical grid, known as Ercot (Electric Reliability Council of Texas), which operates almost independent of the rest of the national network. This deliberate disconnection, designed to avoid federal regulations, also prevents the State from importing electricity easily in case of emergency. Thus, when temperatures fell dramatically in February 2021, many electric plants (especially those fed with natural gas) They were not prepared To operate in freezing conditions. The pipes froze, the valves failed and gas production collapsed, just at the time of greatest energy demand. Although some wind turbines also froze, their weight on the network was relatively small: about 7 % of the production planned for that time of the year, according to expert calculations. Most cuts came from thermal and nuclear plants that could not operate due to lack of fuel or technical problems derived from extreme cold. Politics in a blackout. Despite this evidence, the narrative that was quickly imposed in conservative sectors was that the ruling had been caused by clean energy. From Fox News to the Wall Street JournalHE They multiplied the voices that ridiculed the renewables, called them “non -reliable” and demanded a return to coal -based energy. An old ideological campaign against environmental policies was reactivated and, in particular, against the Green New Deal promoted by some Democratic legislators. Even false images were shared, such as a photograph of frozen turbines supposedly in Texas that It turned out to be from Swedencaptured years ago during a thaw test. Social networks, media and politicians such as Congresswoman Lauren Bobert or state senator Mike Thompson They spread without contrast Uninformed arguments that placed wind and solar energy as guilty of the blackout, reinforcing a rhetoric that had been downed long before the incident. The response of experts. Numerous researchers and electrical systems specialists They denied the official version repeated by the governor and other leaders. Jesse Jenkins, engineer of the Energy System of Princeton, summarized in a phrase What happened: “All generation sources are being beaten.” Indeed, freezing affected both gas and coal, nuclear and renewable plants. The problem was not a single technology, but the lack of preparation of the infrastructure set in the face of extreme weather conditions. Leah Stokes, political scientist at the University of California in Santa Barbara, The irony stressed to New York Times of the situation: the same fossil fuels that were feeding climate change were those that had failed in an increasingly common weather scenario. From that prism, what did not support the system was not renewable energy, but an obsolete network model, little resilient and possibly more focused on economic efficiency than in climate emergencies. Climate change as a backdrop. Plus: the crisis occurred just when Joe Biden came to the presidency and had signed his First executive orders In climatic matters, reincorporating the United States to the Paris Agreement and canceling the Keystone XL pipeline. Under that context, the Texas blackout became a discursive battlefield between those who asked for more investment in clean energy and resilience, and who defended the continuous and reinforced use of fossil fuels. Biden had made it clear that his vision went through Modernize infrastructure Energy of the country, generate green jobs and reduce emissions towards a zero net target in 2050, but the storm served the opposition sectors as excuse to discredit said agenda. Broken system Far from demonstrating an alleged “uselessness” of wind energy, the Texas blackout In 2021 it was a more warning about the vulnerabilities of an energy system unable to adapt to the 21st century climate. While the authorities blamed the turbines, millions of people froze without heating, hospitals worked with emergency generators, and citizens (such as state deputy Brandon Woodard, in Kansas) they wondered if those interruptions would become A new standard. If you want also, the event left a teaching: reliability does not depend on a type of energy source, but on an integrated, resistant and modernized system that combines technologies, storage, interconnections and preparation against climatic extremes that will be more frequent. In Texas, loading the blame for the wind was a convenient, but dangerous distraction. As almost always, the true enemy were not renewable, but negligence. Image | POT In Xataka | The precedent closest to the great blackout of Spain was lived in 2003. And it also began in the interconnected network In Xataka | Having solar panels at home sounds very good in case of national blackout. The problem is that they do not always work

We have found a “dark matter bridge” thanks to its predictions

by

Optical telescopes are instruments that allow us to see very distant objects thanks to the combination of lenses, objects that, through refraction, modify the path of light allowing us, among other things, to see objects unimaginably distant. However, there are other types of lenses that astronomers have used for a few years, gravitational lenses. An intergalactic “bridge”. Thanks to these lenses, a group of researchers He has discovered The remnants of an object that collided in the past with the galactic cluster of Perseus. Some remnants that have finally been detected thanks to the elusive dark matter. A resolved mystery. He Perseus cluster It is a group of galaxies located about 240 million light years from Earth. These clusters are formed from very high energy mergers, events that are among the most intense from the big Bang. Thanks to these mergers, Perseus has been accumulating An equivalent mass 600 billion the mass of our sun (or the equivalent to several hundred times the mass of our galaxy). Until now we believed that mergers were a thing of the past in this cluster, which was already in a kind of stable balance. However, more recent and detailed observations had shown clues of recent collisions that implied that Perseus He was not in the stability situation we thought. The mystery now, was to determine which object had recently collided with this Cluster And why we were not able to detect it. Now, it seems that we have resolved this enigma. Using lenses, otherwise. All thanks to the phenomenon we know as gravitational lens. This phenomenon, predicted by physicist Albert Einstein, is caused by gravity. This, far from “throwing” an object. It is common for astronomers to use this phenomenon as if it were an additional lens in a telescope, allowing to see beyond what in principle would be possible. In this new study, logic It has been the opposite: Use the bottom galaxies, to detect the lens, in this case, the one formed by dark matter. Display Dark matter bridge. Thus they found a huge cluster of dark matter, of an approximate mass of 200 billion solar masses and located around 1.4 million light years of the accumulation of Perseus. Between both structures a structure is extended that connects them, a “dark matter bridge” that the team considers direct evidence of the last collision. The collision would have occurred, according to team estimates, about 5,000 million years ago. “This is the piece that was missing and we were looking for,” James Jee, co -author of the study, stood out in a press release. From the Subaru telescope. The finding was made thanks to the observations made by the Subaru telescope of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, located in Mauna Kea, Hawaii. Specifically, the team resorted to the Sprime-Cam instrument of this 8.2 meter telescope. The details of the study were published In an article In the magazine Nature Astronomy. But is dark matter? Dark matter is one of the most popular enigmas of contemporary astrophysics. The generally accepted cosmological models are based on the existence of a “something” that interacts with “conventional” matter and energy through gravity. Dark matter is the name we give to what would otherwise be anomalies in astronomical observations. Still From the assumption about what There is this “something” And we are not, for example, using erroneous models, the nature of this matter remains one of the great mysteries of the cosmos. In Xataka | One of the objectives of the Webb Space Telescope was to look for signs of life on other planets. He just found them Image | Hyeonghan et al.

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