The subsoil of historical cities hides a great garbage vacuum. The problem is that you have to punch

Tony Soprano, from the great series’The soprano‘He was dedicated to garbage management. It may seem an exaggeration designed for fiction, but as usually happens, fiction surpasses reality. Base management It is a problem for half the world (more now than China decided to stop being our landfill) and move so much money that there is mafias moving from one country to another. In the search for solutions, the definitive company came up with a Swedish company to stop seeing cubes and garbage trucks through the streets: move waste from pipes. It is something that has turned medieval cities into the technological pinnacle of garbage collection. But the day -to -day life of the neighbors is something else. Changing the approach. It all started by chance. At the end of the 1950s, the Sollefte hospital in Sweden was investigating the creation of a central aspiration system to catch dust. One of the participants in the table was OLOF H.Hallstrom, director of Centralsug, the current Waste Waste company, and the idea arose: instead of a giant vacuum For dust, a giant garbage vacuum could be created. So They tell On its website, where they point out that the system was inaugurated in the hospital in 1961 and that it continues to work with many of the original pieces installed more than 60 years ago. But of course, if it works so well in a building, why not expand the network to an entire city? That is no longer so easy. Sollefte basements with garbage collection tubes A giant vacuum. First of all, you have to see how it works. Known as’Pneumatic garbage collection‘O’ Automatic vacuum collection ‘, AVAC from now on, is a giant vacuum connected to a multitude of underground pneumatic tubes. On the surface there are a series of nozzles that are designed for organic or plastic waste (the glass could damage the system) in which the bag is deposited with the waste and, thanks to fans that generate suctions of more than 60 km/h, travel through the tubes to a collection center. Example of one of these nozzles They are classified and loaded into trucks to transport them to their final location. This system reduces the use of trucks and their corresponding pollution, as well as Cubes in the streets. The most current systems include doors that are automatically open and cards in possession of citizens to activate the system. Modernizing historical cities. And that reduction of cubes and trucks circulating is something ideal for any city, but it seems key in locations with two profiles: tourist or old helmets of medieval cities. A clear example is Bergen, a Norwegian city founded in 1070 that is the second most populated in the country and has a historic center full of colorful wooden houses. It has fired several times and the garbage itself can be a focus of fire, so by safety and improve the helmet, they decided to bet on an avac type system. It is one of the 200 cities in the world in which this system has been installed and, as we read in The Washington Postthe diesel emissions Since the garbage trucks stopped circulating along their narrow streets. Among others, Leganés, Barcelona, ​​Barakaldo, Torrent, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Stockholm, Doha or Seoul have neighborhoods in which a pneumatic collection system is used, and in new construction complexes of some cities are also betting on it. Complex. The problem is what you can imagine: the system itself is expensive, but it is also a headache. In new neighborhoods, it is as simple as to pass one more pipe in the streets where there are already other pipes, but in Historical cities Or neighborhoods already built, bet on something like avac implies lifting the streets and performing a considerable work. Bergen’s example is clear. As they point out on TWP, since they made the decision to start building the system in the historic center in 2007, they have invested about 100 million dollars. There are years to finish connecting the entire network and estimate that the cost will be 30 million dollars. Terje Strom, responsible for waste management in the city, says it is “almost impossible.” Contextualizing the figures? It is almost the entire annual budget of the Waste Department. Collection Central in Konza Technolopis, Africa Gamification and penalty. But, leaving cost aside, user experiences seem positive. It is a system that simplifies the garbage, which eliminates full cubes and the truck transit. In Spain we have containersbut in other cities they work with individual cubes that roll through the streets and share the stamp. Not everything is perfect, since although there are no trucks, they do operators who are dedicated to unblocking the mouths when someone introduces something that should not. And beyond not seeing garbage trucks, there are two incentives for citizens. One is the gamification by application That tells us how many kilos we have deposited in real time and compares with the previous month. It also tells us how average we are, since there is a limit. In Bergen, to open waste mouths, residents bring their electronic key, which allows you to register how much discard and collect a rate according to the amount of non -recycled garbage they send to the incinerator. This penalty is something that It has also been seen in South Koreawith positive results regarding the increase in recycling. Not everyone is happy. Beyond installation costs, it seems the perfect system to manage waste. However, looking at what happens in Spanish cities in which these systems have been installed, we see that not everything is so beautiful. There are more than thirty cities that use this pneumatic collection, and in some Failures are reported that cause the tubes to be full due to pipes that do not absorb well. Tubes in a kind of garbage rooms in Leganés. The main problem for users is the diameter of the mouth. Image | Xataka It is something that causes bad odors, as users of … Read more

Israel is obsessed with Iran’s nuclear bomb project. What hides is your own unofficial atomic arsenal

With the conflict of the Middle East there is a paradox. Israel has been saying that Iran is about to Have nuclear weaponssomething that nobody is certain that it is so, at least not in its entirety. In fact, it is one of the most repeated issues these days how far the Iranian “nuclear theme” reaches. And yet, no one asks the question in reverse. What happens to Israel’s nuclear program? Iran’s “bombs”. It We count yesterday. Despite the alarms on by Netanyahu for more than a decade (like that famous bomb cart that showed in the UN in 2012), there are no conclusive tests that Iran has made the decision to manufacture a nuclear weapon. While the country has enriched uranium to nearby levels to the military And it has accumulated reservations that, technically, could serve to produce several bombs with greater purification, both US intelligence services and the International Atomic Energy Agency agree that It has not been detected An active weapon program. Iran has become A “threshold state”with the ability to arm himself if he decided, but without evidence of crossed that threshold. Single side. And while Israel displays All your military force To dismantle what he considers an existential threat (Iran’s nuclear program), he does so carrying his own atomic arsenal, no officially recognized But increasingly evident. The war that Israel has undertaken against Tehran seeks to destroy Key facilities That, according to international experts, they could provide Iran that atomic bomb in a matter of months. However, in a gesture of paradoxical silence, Israel has never confirmed or denied the existence of its own nuclear program. At the diplomatic level, it maintains an ambiguous formula: ensures that it will not be the first country to “introduce” nuclear weapons in the Middle East. That phrase, deliberately inaccurate, allows you to preserve a discourse of prudence while preserving what most analysts consider a consolidated and growing atomic capacity. Hidden but feared. In fact, the play is doubly winner. Had the New York Times that the most conservative calculations attribute to Israel a minimum of 90 Nuclear Ojivas lists to be deployed, with sufficient fistening material reserves to manufacture hundreds more. Although its arsenal is the second smallest of the nine countries recognized informally as nuclear powers, Just ahead North Korea, its delivery capacity It is advanced: Balistic missiles, modified and submarine combat aircraft endowed with missiles with nuclear capacity constitute a complete deterrence triad. Israel’s absence in the Nuclear Non -Proliferation Treaty (which is also not part of Indian, Pakistan or North Korea) reinforces the legal exceptionality of your situation. The treaty, in force since 1970only recognizes the five nations that detonated atomic weapons before 1967: United States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom. Any other country that signed should, in theorygive up this armament. Israel has avoided that commitment, thus maintaining a strategic freedom that allows it to operate outside international inspections or explicit limitations. Dimona’s secret. And here comes one of the keys to the heart. The heart of the Israeli nuclear program beats in the Néguev desert, at the facilities of Dimona. Founded in 1958 With French help, this installation was Inspection object Americans during the 1960s, but since then it has remained Out of reach of any international monitoring. Broarship intelligence documents They revealed Already in 1960 that the complex included a plant of Plutonium reprocessingwhich implied a military objective. By 1967, Israel had managed to develop nuclear explosives And in 1973, during the Yom Kipur WarThe United States already assumed with certainty that the country He had atomic bombs. Throughout the decades, various satellite images have documented significant extensions In Dimonaand some Recent reports They indicate that Israel could even be building a new reactor to increase its plutonium production capacity, the material indispensable for both nuclear weapons and certain peaceful uses. Silent deterrence. Unlike dozens of countries that are accepted to the nuclear umbrella From the United States for its defense, Israel has opted for its own atomic shield. This strategic independence suggests that Israel not only has nuclear weapons, but is willing to use them As a last resort If its existence is compromised. Although you have never used these weapons in combat, There are reports which point to their preparation during the wars of 1967 and 1973. It is also suspected that Israel participated in Secret nuclear trialsas the famous incident of the American satellite Watches in 1979which detected a double light explosion near the Indian Ocean. Although the nation denied its involvement, newspapers of President Jimmy Carter recorded the Strong suspicion that Israel and South Africa collaborated in that clandestine test. Be that as it may, those events still are not confirmed, although the most relevant documents continue to classified, which feeds suspicions. The strategic logic. In short, and despite Your official opacitythe existence of Israeli nuclear arsenal seems tacitly recognized for its exclusion of otherwise protection mechanisms. The fact that it is not part of the American deterrence is interpreted by experts such as the clearest nonverbal confirmation of its independent atomic capacity. In the eyes of the Israeli government, this decision responds to A philosophy deeply rooted: no one but Israel can and should guarantee their survival. I remembered the Times that this logic, heiress of foundational trauma From the Holocaust, it was explicitly expressed By Ernst David Bergmann, president of the Israeli Atomic Energy Commission, stating that the atomic bomb was the only guarantee that “we will never be taken as lambs to the slaughterhouse.” No doubt, that principle continues to guide Israeli nuclear doctrine: maintain a sufficiently ambiguous capacity not to cause international reactions, but powerful enough to deter any real aggression. Image | Planet Lab, The Official CTBO In Xataka | Israel’s great goal in his war against Iran is to destroy Fordow. And you can only get it with a bomb that has USA In Xataka | Ukraine was the anticipation of what Israel has done: war is no longer … Read more

We are increasingly sure that Mars hides a lot of water underground. The last track has been given to us an earthquake

There was a remote time in which Mars, today desert, had rivers and seas. We know some of the remnants that have remained, such as the Jezero river delta that explores the Rover Perseverance But that water may have been more than mere traces. A lot more. New tests. A geological study conducted thanks to the propagation of seismic waves on the red planet has obtained new evidence of the existence of water on Mars. Although the study itself does not imply a definitive test, it joins the list of studies that indicate that the neighboring planet is not as dry as it seems. A wet past. The Martian oceans had a short duration In geological terms. According to estimates, these would have disappeared between 4,100 and 3,000 million years ago (our solar system has about 4.6 billion years), in periods called Noeic and Hesperic. The lower gravitational attraction and the lack of a magnetic field that protect the Martian seas of the solar wind left Mars without superficial oceans. But from that water there was more than a handful of marks in the geography of the red planet: the water in solid state lasts ice -shaped either Integrated into its minerals. The enigma of the missing water. Some researchers detected a problem, and it is the difficulty that the sum of evaporated water, frozen or embedded in minerals could represent the total water that was once on Mars, they explain In an article for The conversation Hrvoje Tkalčić and Weijia Sun, co -authors of the recent geological study on water on Mars. Insight, to the rescue. In his recent study, the team took advantage of the data captured by the seismometer that the probe Insight He kept operating on Mars during his activity. During this period, Mars suffered an earthquake and received the impact of several meteorites, events whose seismic waves were recorded by the instrument aboard the now deceased probe. Studying the spread of these leads, the team identified an “anomaly” in a layer of the Martian subsoil located between 5.4 and 8 kilometers under the surface. It is a “low speed layer” that, according to the hypothesis proposed by the equipment would correspond to a layer of porous rock stuffed with water, “like a saturated sponge” or “something similar to the aquifers of the earth.” A lot of water. This layer could hide a significant amount of water, enough to house the water that dfalta in the accounts of the experts. “We have calculated that the ‘aquífera’ in Mars could house enough water to cover the planet in a global ocean of a depth of between 520 and 780 m, several times more water that keeps the Antarctic ice layer.” The details of the study will be published In an article In the magazine National Science Reviewbut for now we have to settle for a draft. Tests accumulate. This It is not the first time that we get evidence of the existence of vast amounts of water in the Martian subsoil. A little over a year agoa study conducted from the data of the European probe Mars Express reached a similar conclusion, that of the existence of huge amounts of water, enough to create an ocean of several hundred meters deep, in the Martian subsoil. In Xataka | We had little doubt that Mars was a habitable planet. The Curiosity Rover has just cleared them Image | POT/GSFC

The debate on gentlemenity actually hides a cultural break with the US

For the Royal Academy there is no doubt. “Gentlemanly” It is that man who behaves like a “gentleman”, with “distinction, nobility and generosity” (sic). If we talk about couples relationships, gender roles and clashes between cultures the meaning of those words becomes diffuse and their most complex implications. Good proof is that in recent days Tiktok has opened A curious debate On whether the Spaniards have forgotten how to treat women and can find a model to follow in the United States (among other countries). Tiktok’s passenger sounds, but It is not the first time that the issue gives to speak and connects with an interesting topic: the (sometimes) diffuse dividing line between the roles that marks education and those that marks machismo. And how that barrier can be seen in different ways in one society or another. “I don’t go out again with a Spaniard”. The phrase is Carolina Moura, influencer, Tiktoker and author of a video that is on its way to the 2.6 million views and in which it basically complains about the lack of “gentlemen” of the Spaniards if compared to the Americans. The piece is relevant because it has revived a debate that had already caught before In networks with other videos, such as Leslie López, a Latin one who shared a year ago A video showing their disappointment with European men. “There is no knightness here,” It coincided. @carolynnna And now the bitter ones will come to say “I do not want to go out with you” hahahaha please, to see if we learn to conquer, to respect and be more gentlemen

The car that hides an eVTOL in the trunk is very real and will be sold in China

We have been imagining the arrival of the flying car to our lives. Although this concept has advanced considerably, especially in recent years, the reality is that we are still far from seeing these vehicles as something accessible. For now, most are projects in the development phase or futuristic demonstrations, and they are still far from what we imagine in movies like ‘Blade Runner’ or video games like ‘Cyberpunk 2077’. A subsidiary of XPeng, a Chinese manufacturer with a presence in Europeis pushing a pretty unique idea. Instead of betting on a design with wheels and wings, something closer to what we usually imagine as a “flying car”, Xpeng AeroHT has developed a vehicle that can deploy an electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft). Sounds crazy, right? Well, the most surprising thing is that this project is already taking shape. The first demonstration of the Xpeng AeroHT vehicle before the public Xpeng AeroHT has advanced at full speed. The company first presented its project in October 2023. Back then, everything was a promise accompanied by very striking renders. But Xpeng AeroHTapparently, was serious when he said that he aspired to make his project a commercial product. Its engineers continued working to get the vehicle ready for its big day: the day of the first official demonstration before the public. This milestone took place at the 15th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition, an event that took place in November 2024 where we learned, for example, the new new Chinese J-35A fighter. There, the founder of XPENG AEROHT, Zhao Deli, showed his company’s star in action. The vehicle stopped in front of the cameras and the crowd, deployed the eVTOL that was hidden in the “trunk” and someone climbed aboard the new multirotor. The latest from Xpeng AeroHT in testing in November 2024 Various tests were performed during the demonstration, such as linear acceleration at low altitude, spiral ascent, constant descent, and precision landing. Apparently, everything went as expected. An interesting point is that the test flight It was controlled at all times by autopilot. That is to say, although it is technically possible, the person on board the aerial module did not use the controls at any time. The latest from Xpeng AeroHT in testing in November 2024 Xpeng AeroHT says the eVTOL is capable of following planned routes automatically, returning to the starting point with a single touch and detecting obstacles around it. The manual control system is made up of a joystick that allows the user to fly with total freedom. The question at this point is what requirements the “pilot” must meet to fly this type of vehicle. We’ll have to wait to find out what local regulations say. Render of the most ambitious project of Xpeng AeroHT In any case, the company has not hesitated to ensure that users can learn to use manual control in five minutes and become experts with three hours of flight time. They do not mention whether it will be necessary to have the support of an instructor. Whether in mode manual or autonomousthe intelligent flight control and navigation system promises to ensure stability, keeping flight parameters within safe limits. And now, the big question: when can we buy the Xpeng AeroHT vehicle? The answer is that we will have to wait. The production line for this model is in production. According to the company, the works will be completed in the third quarter of this year and will allow the production of around 10,000 units per year. Deliveries should begin in 2026 in China. It remains to be seen if this product will reach other markets such as Europe. Images | Xpeng AeroHT In Xataka | XPeng believes that the solution to popularize the electric car is very simple: offer charges of 1 km per second

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