formed

What are lightning bolts and how are they formed, the impressive electrical discharges that scare and fascinate in equal measure?

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The good news is that the chance of being struck by lightning this year is less than one in a million. Even better news is that 90% of people struck by lightning survive. Even so, it is always advisable to avoid risks when we are talking about atmospheric phenomena as violent as these. Lightning strikes cause both fear and fascination, a fascination that sometimes leads us to ask questions about the nature of these immense electrical columns. What is lightning Lightning is an electrical discharge (each lightning can generate several discharges), generally of very high power, that occur in clouds. These are meteorological phenomena that, although they have its origin in the atmospheresometimes they reach the surface of the Earth. We usually associate lightning with storms and cyclones, but these discharges can occur in other contexts, for example during volcanic eruptions, during fires of a certain intensity or when nuclear weapons are detonated. How lightning is formed Lightning usually occurs in stormy conditions and, the truth is that we do not fully know how. We know that under certain conditions, clouds can go accumulating electrical charges both positive and negative. In these cases, the air acts as an insulator between areas of positive or negative accumulation, as well as between these areas and the Earth. At a certain point, the accumulation of these charges exceeds a threshold that causes this insulating capacity of the air to give way. So all that accumulation of charges generates an electric current capable of traveling long distances (even several hundred kilometers). The discharge allows the electrical charge to balance, but the charges can accumulate again until the next lightning strike. What remains a mystery to us is the beginning of this process, how positive or negative charges accumulate in certain regions. The main hypothesis suggests that the origin of this accumulation is in tiny hail particles (also called graupel) that grow as they encounter supercold water droplets (in a liquid state but with temperatures below freezing). In thunderstorms, these icy particles would frequently collide, colliding with other icy particles. These collisions would cause the charges of the different particles to gain charge of one sign or another. Difference between lightning, thunder and lightning Electrical shocks are usually invisible to the human eye and they also do not generate noise, but this is not the case with lightning. Lightning generates not only a flash of intense light, but also a significant roar. We call the zigzag luminous path of lightning lightning. As it passes through the atmosphere, the electrical discharge causes the air to heat up to exceed temperatures of 27,000º Ceslius, a temperature higher than that observed on the surface of the Sun. This causes the air to become incandescent, generating lightning. Such rapid and intense heating of the air has another effect, making it “explode” outwards. This rapid movement of air is responsible for the second element that makes up lightning, sound or, in other words, the thunder. Light and sound move through the atmosphere at very different speeds. This is what makes us see lightning even seconds before its sound reaches our eardrums. This gap gives rise to an old trick to measure the distance at which the storm is from us. If we count the seconds of lag between light and sound and divide the result by three, we can estimate the distance in kilometers at which the lightning occurred. Types of lightning Cloud flashes and cloud-to-cloud Among conventional rays we can distinguish various types depending on the location of the points they join. The first of the groups that we can distinguish is that of the cloudy flashes. Most lightning strikes never reach the ground, in fact it is common for them not to even escape the cloud in which they occur. These rays are also often called intra-cloud rays. Within the category of lightning that never reaches the ground, there are some whose path partially escapes the cloud and even some that start in one cloud and reach another different cloud. Cloud-to-surface We distinguish these cloudy flashes and rays from those that do manage to reach the Earth’s surface. These types of discharges occur from the top down, at least when they happen naturally. The rays that join cloud and surface can be both negative and positive depending on where the respective negative and positive charges are located. Negative rays are the most common rays (they represent around 95% of impacts). In these rays, the clouds accumulate a negative charge and the Earth has a positive charge. When lightning opens the channel, the negative charge moves from the cloud to the ground, hence the name. The positive rays They are less frequent but at the same time more powerful. The reason is that these originate in higher areas of the cloud, so they must travel further. This in turn means that they accumulate more energy before discharging. Other unique events However, there is a different category that we call transient light events, or TLE (transient luminous events). These phenomena are much less frequent, more difficult to observe and, as a consequence, much more mysterious. How powerful is lightning? The strength of lightning can vary considerably depending on atmospheric conditions and the Earth’s surface. As explained According to the United States National Weather Service, a “typical” lightning strike can discharge about 30,000 amperes with 300 million volts. However, we pointed out before that a positive ray can transport much more energy. According to NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), the organization on which the American meteorological service depends, these types of discharges can be an order of magnitude higher, discharging 300,000 amperes with 1,000 million volts. Many will wonder Why don’t we take advantage of this energy? and the answer is that, today, there are too many difficulties to make this technology a reality. First, we must keep in mind that lightning is a transitory phenomenon that can occur in different places: to obtain its energy we would have … Read more

how it is formed, how it differs from a normal storm and how to act in one of them

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It rains in the Levant. Deluge. Injuries, dozens of homes flooded, infrastructure unusable, rivers overflowing. Deaths. As you may have seen, there are no links in the three sentences that head this paragraph. And it is not an oversight: there are no links because, sadly, they are not necessary. Every year, for too many now, the end of summer ends with torrential rains in the east of the peninsula and the Balearic Islands. How is it possible that the same improvisation scenes are always repeated? Why are we not prepared for what, by all accounts, seems inevitable? What is a DANA and what should we know about them? Difference between DANA and cold drop POT Around 1886, a group of German meteorologists they started talking of kaltlufttropfen (‘cold air fall’). It may seem that ‘cold drop’ is a native and traditional way of calling certain types of meteorological events, but no. Our ‘cold drop’ comes directly from there: from a way to describe “cold air pockets” or stormy phenomena at altitude”. A description that is more than a century old. For this reason, there was a moment when the AEMET decided to start talking about Isolated Depressions at High Levels. The DANA concept is more current and, therefore, more accurate: it describes a cold depression at high levels, isolated from the main circulation, which generates instability by interacting with warm and humid air in lower layers. But, be careful, the change was not only due to a scientific issue. As the Agency itself recognized‘cold drop’ began to become synonymous with “catastrophic, intense and damaging rains, as well as highly dangerous meteorological situations.” And this is not always the case: we know for a fact that there are DANAs that cause absolutely nothing. It is something very similar to what he has done in recent days giving a proper name to dangerous DANAs. So for practical purposes, DANA is a more precise way than Gota Fría to talk about one of the most characteristic (and potentially dangerous) atmospheric phenomena of the Spanish autumn. How a DANA is formed The mechanism behind Isolated Depressions at High Levels is quite well known. At high levels of the atmosphere, the jet stream is disturbed, undulated, pinched. And finally, it comes off. That’s what we call an ‘isolated closed low’; that is, detached from the main flow. This low remains circulating independently and, when it interacts with areas of warmer and more humid air (for example, in the Mediterranean) it can generate vertical instability, intense convective attacks, deep clouds and torrential rains. Why DANAs are increasingly common in Spain The truth is that there is no consensus that DANAs are increasing in Spain. It is something that is being discussed; But there are indications that some factors are making the episodes more extreme. We talk about things like the Mediterranean being warmer than usual (a warmer sea contributes more water vapor to the air), the atmosphere also it’s hotter (and has more latent energy) and that the polar jet is becoming more erratic. All this means that even if the same DANAs occur as in previous years, the effects are much worse. Consequences of DANAs Manuel Pérez García and Estefania Monerri Mínguez. That’s where the problems begin. Although the effects may vary depending on intensity, duration and location, the fact that DANAs become more intense is what is making our lives difficult. And it is thatThe catalog of consequences is very extensive.. Flash floods, river flooding, dry riverbed overflows; damage to infrastructure (roads, bridges, urban drainage) and agricultural crops; very numerous human risks: trapped people, power outages, evacuations; and a high economic impact: reconstruction, insurance, losses in tourism or agriculture. DANAs and climate change As I said, there is no clear consensus about the appearance of more DANAs than normal. The IPCC reports, for example, do not state any of this; but yes the favorable conditions for extreme phenomena they increase. In fact, in the Mediterranean regions, warming scenarios foresee an increase in precipitation very intense in isolated events. In other words: as I have been arguing, the climate change It does not create more DANAs, but it makes them more dangerous and difficult to predict. DANAs in other parts of the world In the rest of the world, what we call ‘DANA’ is often called ‘cut-off lows’ and, indeed, they are very common in many parts of the world. This type of phenomenon is also observed in the USA, Australia and South America. However, it is something especially relevant in our country because our climate, the extremely warm sea and such abrupt relief They make isolated casualties our daily bread. Precautions before the arrival of a DANA That makes more relevant than ever the fact that be prepared. In that sense, there are a handful of: Consult official alerts: AEMET, public administrations and Civil Protection. Avoid driving on secondary roads, dry riverbeds and flood-prone tunnels. Do not cross watercourses. Seal or check drains, roofs and sewers to avoid backups. In houses, lift belongings from the floor if water is expected to enter. Take refuge in high areas. Have prepared a basic ‘survival’ kit: flashlight, radio, chargers, water, important documents. In short, the best defense against a DANA is accurate information, preparation and prudence. Image | The Tampa Bay Estuary Program In Xataka | What is cold drop, why it seems more intense than ever and why it is not correct to call it that

5.7% unemployment among the best formed

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Some of the main gurus technological In Silicon Valleylike Mark Zuckerberg or Mark Chenhead of Development of Chatgpt, have ensured that university titles They are no longer a guarantee To get a good job in your companies. However, thedata of Eurostat and The last Active Population Survey (EPA) are stubborn and insist on demonstrating that people with higher studies suffer rates from Unemployment lower than the rest. Which invites you to deduce that having a university degree or an equivalent higher degree increases the possibilities of Find a jobeven if you are Overcueled for Work That is going to be done. The value of the university degree. The educational level clearly determines the Probability of finding work. Beyond the decrease in the unemployment rate in Spain that has registered the last report, being at 10.29%, the EPA data They reveal that the unemployment of people with higher studies have a 5.7%unemployment rate, while those who have not finished primary education are around 24.5%. Those who have finished ESO lower their unemployment rate to 11.5%. According The published by The worldthese data also show that unemployment has descended much faster among university graduates during the last decade, currently being at 2007 levels, when unemployment among the best formed workers stood at 5.3%. Europe lives a similar situation. This improvement in the unemployment rate of workers with higher education has not been enough to match the European average that, according to The data Eurostat is 4% during the first quarter of 2025, and remains in third place in countries with the highest unemployment rate in this segment of its active population, only surpassed by Turkey and Greece. It is not something strange considering that the general unemployment rate also occupies that place and Spain is not among the countries with the highest number of Employees with higher studies. According to the published data by Euronewsthe countries with the lowest unemployment figures in the segment of the best formed people are Poland and the Czech Republic, with 1.4%. The young people formed still have problems. Although the situation is especially advantageous for those who have already finished the university, it does not happen the same In all age groups. The highest unemployment rate of this active population segment is among the youngest between 20 and 24 years with 16.3%. This data is an indicative of The difficulties to those who face young people who just end their studies. The figures improve as the age strip is increased and employees acquire professional experience. For graduates between 25 and 29 years, the unemployment rate is set at 9.1%. For those over 30 years of age, it is already below 5%. Soft skills: essential complement. Although statistical data They deny technological gurusthe truth is that, if these higher studies are complemented by the so -called soft skills, the possibilities of finding a job in less time They increase. According to data collected in the Hays Guide of the labor market 2025 elaborate By the consulting firm Hays, 63% of Spanish companies prioritize soft skills, especially In technological sectors. Maintain an open attitude to change, teamwork capacity and know communicate effectively In the professional environment they are considered decisive factors for insertion and labor promotion. In Xataka | Finding had always been a good way to escape poverty: in Spain it is ceasing to be true Image | Unspash (Alvaro Reyes)

Astrophysics do not know how to certain how the first stars of the universe formed. This is about to change

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All stars are different. Each of them has its own character. His own “personality.” However, THE MECHANISM OF NATURE that has triggered the birth of most of those we can observe is always the same, so, in some way, we can consider that All are related. The stars are born from clouds of dust and gas that are disseminated by the universe, and that began to form Shortly after the Big Bangwhich took place, according to the estimates of scientists, almost 14,000 million years ago. The analyzes that many research groups are carrying out defend that the first stars were born shortly after the formation of the universe. In fact, it is currently considered that the oldest known, whose name resists me to transcribe because it is a cluster of letters and numbers that will not contribute anything, was born nothing less than 13.6 billion years, which reflects that it is almost as old as the universe itself. A team of astronomers from the National University of Australia, which is the group of scientists responsible for its discovery, assures which is sixty times larger than our sun and is located in our same galaxy, the Milky Way, but to 6,000 light years from the earth. Just to a jump. Our protagonist is the oldest molecule known in the cosmos The most interesting thing is that, despite their age, astronomers are convinced that there are even more archaic stars. This suspicion relies on the fact that our 13.6 billion giant is composed, in addition to hydrogen, carbon, magnesium and calcium. These chemical elements have necessarily had to be previously manufactured by one or several stars of an even older generation and with a very low presence of metals, understanding as metals all those elements that are heavier than helium, regardless of their position in the periodic table. The problem is that the knowledge that astrophysics have about these primal stars is still very limited, although this scenario seems to be about to change. And it is that a research team of the Max Planck Institute of Nuclear Physics, which is housed in Heidelberg (Germany), has identified unexpected behavior of helium hydride (heh⁺), which is the oldest molecule known in the cosmos. It consists of a helium atom (He) and a proton (H⁺), and astrophysicists believe it was formed in the universe shortly after the Big Bang, when the temperature was reduced enough so that the helium and hydrogen atoms began to join. Astrophysics of the Max Planck Institute of Nuclear Physics have managed to reproduce the conditions of the original universe using a cryogenic storage ring One of the reasons why helium hydride is so important is that its appearance triggered the beginning of chemical bonds in the universe and strengthened the foundations for the creation of molecular hydrogen (H₂), which is the fuel that feeds the stars. The strategy used by astrophysicians from the Max Planck Institute of Nuclear Physics to recreate how this molecule behaved just after the Big Bang is amazing. And they have managed to reproduce the conditions of the original universe using a cryogenic storage ring. This experimental ingenuity is used to store ion beams for prolonged periods of time at extremely low temperatures and under ultra -oral vacuum conditions. This allows scientists to study the properties of molecules as unstable as helium hydride without being destroyed very quickly when colliding. As explained in the very interesting article that these astrophysicians have published in Astronomy & AstrophysicsDuring their experiment they realized that instead of slowing down as the temperature dropped, the reaction between helium hydride and the deuterium remained constant. This finding is important because in the primal universe helium hydride interpreted a leading role in the primordial gas cooling process. This cooling was essential so that the clouds of dust and gas collapse under the effects of gravity and give rise to the formation of the stars. In short, what these scientists have discovered is that Helio hydride had a much more active role in the primary chemistry of the universe of what was believed so far. Taking this idea as a starting point, astrophysicists onwards will be able to rethink the theoretical models that describe the processes involved in the formation of the oldest stars. Image | POT More information | Astronomy & Astrophysics In Xataka | The CERN has made an incredible pirouette: its last discovery has the ability to revolutionize quantum computers

Those who know how to ask 100 questions to Chatgpt and those that are formed with an answer

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When Nityesh Agarwal, an engineer from Everyspent two weekends learning about special relativity with ChatgptHe did not just ask him a question. Not ten. Were More than one hundred The questions he asked until Einstein ceased to be a name in his books to become ideas that could explain to anyone in five minutes. A software engineer, without physics training, achieved what it used to require much more regulated training time: Understand why time slows near the speed of light. The difference was not even caused by the chosen model. In fact, He used more GPT-4o than the brand new O3 because he felt that he better understood his doubts. The difference was in your method: Ask until exhaustion. Ask for metaphors. Draw diagrams when it was stuck. Share each epiphany to confirm that you had understood. He used the AI, in short, such as what can really be: A tutor with infinite patience that never tires of reformulating the idea from different angles until the student understands. And there is a little commented problem: Most people use chatgpt and company like a vitaminate googlelittle else. One question, an answer, next topic. An advanced calculator, a refined translator. How to have Internet access and just use it to watch viral videos. Ahem. Nityesh discovered that the bottleneck of personalized learning is not so much the intelligence of the machine and the patience and insistence of the student. AI can teach anything to anyone. But it requires that we be as obsessive as Nityesh during those two weekends. And so he is born A new self -taught class: People who understand that after the Internet, AI is its second great revolution. If the Internet democratized access to knowledge, LLMS They democratize access to personalized teaching. Some people make them more vague. Others make them unstoppable. The advantage is no longer to have access to information, but in the ability to ask the right questions and have the patience to continue asking until everything fit. Nityesh has demonstrated it In comic strips. Outstanding image | Collab Media in Unspash In Xataka | The new illiteracy has nothing to do with knowing how to read or write: it is to use AI as an oracle instead of as a tool

In case they have not been rare enough in recent weeks, now a record storm is being formed in the middle of the Atlantic

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While the next Nuria front already causes problems on the peninsula, meteorologists begin to focus on what comes next. And what comes next is, As González Alemán saysa great Atlantic storm. But a very rare: possibly the deepest ever registered on these dates. A very strange Atlantic. As we have been in a couple of years of rain, our conversations have focused on accumulated, overflows and reservoirs. However, we have paid little attention to the cause of all this: a circulation and an atmospheric dynamic in the Atlantic that are “really interesting and worthy of study.” Another rarity. In the next few days, According to the models“We will see the formation of a great very rare Atlantic storm, with its 969 hpa.” That is, a storm that could “be recorded (depth) for the time we are.” What does this mean? In the same way that an anticyclone is a high -pressing area, a storm is essentially a low pressures zone. That, for practical purposes, means that there is what is called “Convergence of air on the ground”; That is, the surrounding air goes to these areas to “fill” the hole and generate surface currents that, ultimately, are what gives that characteristic shaped shape. In weather jargon, more “depth”, less pressure. And “lower pressure”, more numerous and powerful currents. Do we have to worry? It is the key question because, as we know, Everything seems to indicate That as of April 11 the rain will be present in Spain yes or yes. That could square with the arrival of fronts linked to this storm. However, it is not so clear. In the first place, because the fact that it will rain more than normal during Holy Week does not tell us how to rain. We already know that, roughly, in Spain we have two types of storms: those caused by the Danas (which are not very useful) and cause them the deep storms (which, as has happened this March, are fantastic for the reservoirs). There is more, of course; But this scheme is worth understanding that we do not talk about the tables of the law. Will it rain? It seems that. But we don’t know how. And secondly? That the effect of storms on Europe depends on the rest of the pieces on the board. The best example is the map that heads this piece: according to the model, there is a dorsal that blocks its arrival to the peninsula. This does not mean anything, really. They can almost pass a dozen different scenarios. However, most likely right now is that storm becomes a curious fact without serious effects in the country. And as we are, it would not be bad. Image | Polarvx In Xataka | After the rains of March and with the reservoirs of Media Spain to overflow, another battle begins: who stays that water

There is a cosmic network of “roads” formed by gas and dark matter filaments. We have just captured it from Chile

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We know well that matter is not distributed in a form of all homogeneous throughout the observable universe. The galaxies like the one we live are great clusters of matter in which the stars are born and died, and with them other objects such as planets and asteroids. However, that is only part of the story. In sight. A group of researchers has achieved Capture directly and in “high definition” an image of the so -called cosmic network, a network of gas filaments that extend throughout millions of light years in the intergalactic space. He has done it from the VLT, the large telescope that the Southern European Observatory has installed in Chile. A cosmic network. The subject in the universe is not only concentrated in the galaxies. Moreover, the subject distributed in intergalactic space plays a fundamental role in the structure of our cosmos. Physical interactions lead to this matter to be distributed in an interesting way. He does it In immense filamentsgas clouds that form an immense network that connects the galaxies around it. The gas that accumulates in this network of “cosmic highways” is the one that feeds the stars of the bright galaxies located at the intersections of this network. Huge, and almost invisible. In addition to the gas that feeds the stars, dark matter also plays an important role in the structuring of this network as indicated by the team responsible for this new image. Observing this dark matter is impossible today, but capturing the gas columns that accompany it, the “star fuel”, is possible. Hundreds of hours. Overcome this difficulty Requires dedicationeven for our most powerful telescopes. That is why capturing this image required hundreds of hours of observation by the VLT (Vary Large Telescope), The telescope of the European Observatory (ESO) installed in the Atacama desert, in Chile. The team resorted to the Muse instrument (Multi–Unit Spectroscopic Explorer), An advanced spectrograph installed in the Chilean telescope. The details of the process were published In an article In the magazine Nature Astronomy. In the image, in color, the diffuse gas that extends around and between the remarked galaxies can be seen. Davide Tornotti/University of Milano-Bicocca. Three million light years. The team used ultraprecisous data compiled by the telescope to create the most clear image ever achieved by one of the filaments that make up the cosmic network. The filament in question extends over three million light years and Connect two distant galaxieseach of them with its own supermassive black hole. “By capturing the dim light emitted by this filament, which has traveled for just under 12,000 million years to reach the Earth, we are able to accurately characterize its form,” Explain in a press release Davide Tornotti, co -author of the study. The team also highlights that the accuracy of the new data has allowed “Draw the border” between the gas of the galaxies themselves and all the subject that we associate with this cosmic web. And all through direct measurements. Validate the theory. In his study, the team used these direct observations to test the theoretical cosmological models. And with a positive result: “When comparing it to the new high definition image, we find a substantial agreement between theory and observations,” Tornotti indicated. Even so, the team also points out that they will continue working on the study of these structures. “One is none,” that is, with the image of one of these elements, it is not enough to draw generalizable conclusions about these key structures for our cosmos but as unknown as the filaments that make up the cosmic network. In Xataka | Is our Milky Way a zombie galaxy and we without knowing it? Image | Alejandro Benitez-Llambay/University of Milano-Bicocca/MPa/Davide Tornotti/University of Milano-Bicocca

38% of its experts have formed in China

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The Government led by Donald Trump is determined to make the decisions that are necessary to sustain US leadership in the scope of the artificial intelligence (AI). This technology has a critical value for the great powers. In fact, The dispute over world supremacy that China currently maintains and the US turns largely around it. And he does it because his applications are presumably unlimited. The AI ​​is already being used for medical diagnosis through image analysis, to design new drugs or to produce new materials, Among many other possibilities. But it can also be used to develop very sophisticated weapons. Last week James David Vance, the US vice president, He spoke a speech During the last day of the summit dedicated to AI in Paris in which he expressed very clearly what is the position of his country in this area: “The most powerful artificial intelligence systems are built in the US with chips designed and manufactured in America (…) USA is the leader in AI, and our administration plans to keep it like this. We have all the components throughout the entire chain of Value, including the advanced semiconductor design, avant -garde algorithms, and, of course, transformative applications. ” This is a declaration of intentions, although the US does not have everything in its favor. More than a third of the US experts come from China A good part of the companies that have developed advanced AI models are American. Openai, Google, Microsoft, Anthropic, Meta, IBM, Chere or Xai, among others, are from the US. However, the knowledge that sustains innovation in the country currently led by Donald Trump is not exclusively in the hands of US researchers; Chinese scientists are making decisive contributions to the US ecosystem. In the US there are more Chinese experts in AI than professionals with a strictly American origin According to a group of researchers from the Paulgo Institute in Chicago (USA), 38% of AI experts who develop their professional career in the US have trained in Chinese universities. In fact, this American institution has concluded that In the US there are more Chinese experts in AI than professionals with a strictly American origin. This, According to Nikkei Asiasome experts in the industry concern due to the possibility that China decides to repatriate their students and researchers from the US to reinforce their AI industry. Some of the best centers dedicated to the science and technology on the planet are in China. The Tsinghua University of Beijing, the Jiao Tong University of Shanghai, the Zhejiang University of Hangzhou, the University of Science and Technology of Hefei or the University of Technology of South China, in Canton, are just a few. All of them have something important in common: they are world reference centers in technology, innovation and applied science. And many of his students are working in the US. At the current situation It is understandable that some American experts are concerned about the possibility of losing these qualified personnel. Image | Xataka with Midjourney More information | Nikkei Asia In Xataka | We already know the secret of the extreme efficiency of Deepseek: it has dodged the Cuda de Nvidia standard

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