huge

China has built such a huge laser that is seen from space

by

Last year, China revealed a budding technology to which They had called Crazy Li. It was an unpublished combat laser capable of cutting metal or causing blindness on the battlefield. What has now discovered an American satellite is completely different from everything known. By size, we are facing an unusual development, so much that it is seen from space. A technological colossus. Apparently, everything indicates that China is developing in the city of Mianyang, Sichuan province, A huge laser fusion research centera technology with the potential to provide clean and unlimited energy. A project that also could also have military applications in the design and modernization of nuclear weapons, According to analysts from two independent intelligence organizations. And how have we learned? Satellite images have revealed A structure with four gigantic arms that will house laser bays directed towards an experimentation center where fusion tests will be performed using hydrogen isotopes. According to analyst Decker Evelethof the CNA Corporation, this installation is at least 50% larger than the National Ignition Facility (NIF) in the United States, which would make it the largest nuclear fusion center in the world. The company would have been monitoring its evolution from space since in 2020 it was just “a land patch.” The project, called Laser Fusion Major Device Laboratoryit had not been previously reported, which has generated concern in the international community about its true purpose. How the laser fusion works: star energy. Nuclear fusion consists of joining hydrogen atoms to generate energyreplicating the process that occurs in the sun and other stars. Unlike the nuclear fission currently used in nuclear plants, Fusion does not generate long -term radioactive waste or pose catastrophic accident risks. In this type of facilities, the powerful lasers shoot on a central chamber that contains hydrogen isotopes, compressing them until they merge and release a huge amount of energy in a process known as ignition. In the case at hand, the design of the Chinese installation presents those four huge arms that They will channel the laser energy towards a central tower where the fusion chamber is located. China vs.euu. Until now, the National Ignition Facity from the United States has led the laser fusion research for decades, achieving in 2022 a historical milestone: The first fusion reaction with net energy gain. The only “but”: the advance did not tell the energy expenditure necessary to feed the lasers, which still leaves the merger far from being viable as a commercial source of electricity. For its part, China, With its aggressive approach in technological developmentcould be shortening the distances. Analysts such as Melanie Windridge, director of Fusion Energy Insights, highlight that the Asian country is advancing with determination and speedwhich could give it a strategic advantage. For Andrew Holland, director of the Fusion Industry Association, if the United States and its allies do not accelerate the investment in nuclear fusion, China could win the race in a short time. Its ability to carry projects from the concept to construction is remarkably faster than that of the West. China East Fusion Reactor Energy or weapons? It is the big doubt after knowing the images. Beyond its application in energy production, these facilities can also perform A crucial role in the development of nuclear weapons. Both China and the United States are signatories of Complete prohibition treaty of nuclear testswhich prevents testing with atomic explosives. The problem? The capacity of these facilities It allows to simulate nuclear explosions without physically detonating themoffering key data to improve the design and performance of nuclear eyes. In this regard, William Alberque, analyst at the Henry L. Stimson Center, He pointed to the CNN that any country with an installation similar to the NIF inevitably will use its ability to improve its nuclear arsenals. Eveleth coincides, suggesting that the Chinese project It could allow the development of more sophisticated weapons, even smaller and more efficient versions. While some experts believe that this advance reduces the need for real nuclear tests, it could also mean a modernization of the Chinese arsenal without the country needing to perform test explosions, thus avoiding international sanctions. And a hybrid reactor? It is the other possibility that is considered, that the installation in Mianyang is not only a conventional laser fusion installation, but A hybrid fusion-fission reactor, which would further raise its strategic potential. The reason? This type of technology combines nuclear fusion with fission to generate energy more efficiently. According to Holland, if China develops this type of reactor, It would be more advanced than any similar installation in the Westwhich would consolidate its leadership in the field of advanced nuclear energy. Geopolitical implications. China’s advance in the construction of this installation points to part of an ambitious energy and military development program, marking a new phase in technological competition with United Statess. As we said, nuclear fusion has been considered The “energy of the future” for its ability to provide clean and unlimited electricitybut also represents a powerful tool in terms of national and geopolitical security. While the United States continues to lead scientific achievements in the field, China accelerates or seems to be demonstrating A much faster construction and scalability capacity. A development that could influence the balance of global power, not only in the energy field, but also in the strategic and military. A fact to consider: China has performed 45 nuclear tests in its historya significantly lower number than The 1,054 of the United States. In other words, its detonation database is more limited, so the use of advanced fusion simulations could be crucial to improve their designs without the need for real evidence. Image | Planet Labs PBC, Chinese Academy of Sciences In Xataka | His name is Crazy Li and is able to cut metal or cause blindness: China has developed an unpublished combat laser In Xataka | This is ‘Orca’, the new Chinese military ship without crew and up to weapons

The AI ​​raises a huge change in our mobiles. One that will have (at least) 32 GB of RAM

by

A year ago our mobiles have AI functions. Google offers them with Gemini and Apple (more or less) with Apple Intelligencebut for now these functions are limited and are reduced to somewhat modest tasks. However, we are seeing how our PCs have access to more striking models. The recent comparison we made of Deepseek R1-14b with models as it calls 3.1-8b or phi 4-14b showed that these developments could really run well in a Mac Mini M4 with 16 GB of RAM. However, what happens for example in the Pixel is that Google offers its Gemini Nano modelwhich has two versions: one 1.8b and another 3.25b. They are decent models, but they are still clearly below the benefits of models such as Deepseek-R1-14B and others such as those mentioned. The problem is that these models, especially when we begin to raise the size and number of parameters (14b, for example), They need memory. And enough. A LLM of seven billion parameters (7b) usually need about 8 GB of memory, although here has some more margin of maneuver (for example, 12 GB) is recommended. The manufacturers know it, and in fact even Apple has made a small effort there. In the iPhone 16 The jump from 6 to 8 GB has been made largely because of this, and Google Pixel 9 They offer up to 16 GB of RAM precisely for the same reason: that gives maneuver margin so that the functions of the executed in local can function fluidly. But that jump may soon go more. It does not seem unreasonable to think that sooner rather than later let’s see mobiles with at least 32 GB of RAM precisely to be able to execute larger AI models and thus offer users more powerful options in this regard. Of course, not only does the amount of memory matter. Our mobile phones do not have a dedicated GPU that can accelerate these tasks, but much is being progressed in the development of NPUs increasingly powerful. The combination of both elements seems to make possible an important change in offering local models of increasingly versatile. These hardware improvements in our mobiles also join possible techniques of optimization and “compression” of AI models. The quantization, a kind of “rounding”, allows large language models (LLM) to see their size reduced, yes, from the loss of a certain level of precision. The quantization It is an already very popular process when being able to use large models in more modest machines, and in addition to reducing hardware requirements it also allows to gain efficiency. All this suggests a not too distant future in which we will have much more powerful models in our pocket. Models that we can run at home, which we can even use without internet connection and that will also maintain the entire conversation in private. There are many interesting advantages. Too many Not to think that we may soon see how mobile manufacturers presume 32 GB mobile. Or who knows if even more. In Xataka | The new Gemini demonstrates a Google ambition: that we talk without stopping with our mobile

An Australian company has discovered “very encouraging” lithium and rubidium amounts in Salamanca. The potential is huge

by

West of the province of Salamanca, near the border of Spain with Portugal, a finding that the Berkeley Australian company He has cataloged “very encouraging”. Significant amounts of lithium, essential for the manufacture of batteries, and rubidium, a scarce and strategic metal. The news. The Berkeley Energy mining group has found important concentrations of lithium and rubidium in a site in the province of Salamanca. These explorations are part of the Conchas project, which covers an area of ​​31 kilometers covered by sediments of the Cenozoic in the Ciudad Rodrigo region. The announcement, cataloged as “very encouraging” by the company, has fired its price 21% In the Australian bag. Why it is important. Lithium is the gold of the 21st century: an essential metal for the manufacture of batteries that has gone from feeding our electronic devices to boost electric vehicles and energy storage from renewable sources, so its demand is still increasing. But rubidium, in particular, is a metal of enormous strategic value. Because it is scarce and the time critical for sectors such as defense, medicine, telecommunications, Quantum computing and renewable energies. It is in atomic watches (GPS, missile guidance), photoelectric cells (night vision systems, Perosvkita solar panels), tomographies, ionic propulsion, data transmission … and its production is dominated by China. Now what. Berkeley has identified thick and shallow areas of lithium and rubidium, which facilitates its possible extraction, but not everything is said. The company will expand the polls and test the samples extracted to evaluate its metallurgical potential, a key step when determining the economic viability of the project. The results of these tests are expected to know this same quarter to define the following steps. It is not the only project. The Essential Metals Limited Australian company (Australia is one of the leading countries in lithium extraction) found high grade lithium to Villasrubias, a town in Salamanca that historically dedicated itself to tin extraction. “Perhaps it is the region, not only of Spain, but of Europe, which has the greatest number of critical raw materials identified, and that are listed by the European Union, due to their economic importance for the development of green energy and for the risk of dependence on third countries “, A project spokesman said. The environmental impact. Known for claiming one billion dollars in damages to the Spanish government after this prohibit the research and use of uraniumBerkeley has the support of the markets in the face of the discovery of lithium and rubidium, but will have to detail the environmental impact of its extraction if the project will continue. The extraction of lithium, in addition to altering the landscape, requires large amounts of water and can release heavy metals and acids in the soil. It would not be the first time that a project is filed for the risk for neighboring peoples, as has happened Until twice in Ávila Duela denunciation of environmental associations. Image | Bybyk (CC BY-CC 4.0), DNN87 (CC BY 3.0) In Xataka | In Salamanca there is a high -tech nuclear fuel bars factory that exports to all of Europe: we have visited it

The Google Pixel 9 Pro XL and Xiaomi 14T at a minimum price, a TV with a huge screen and more: hunting bargains

by

January has been a month full of campaigns in which we have been able to see many historical minimum prices. Mobile, televisions, sound bars and headphones: These are the devices that star in the new hunting bargains of the month – and last January. Much eye because there are most interesting prices, some better than we saw in Black Friday. Google Pixel 9 XL by 999 eurosGoogle mobile in large format in its 512 GB version is cheaper than ever. LG 75UR76006LL by 594.15 eurosa television that stands out mainly for its large 75 -inch screen. Xiaomi 14t by 439 eurosXiaomi’s mobile falls down again and is cheaper than at Christmas and Black Friday. CMF Nothing Buds Pro 2 by 49 eurossome headphones that stand out for their design, but also for their audio quality and for their new discount. Xiaomi Soundbar 2.0ch by 49.99 eurosa good Xiaomi sound bar that does not cost or 50 euros. Google Pixel 9 XL After many offers in its various versions, the best discount finally arrives to date in the Google Pixel 9 XLspecifically the one that has 512 GB of internal storage. By 999 euros It can be found at Amazon, a fairly striking price considering that it costs 1,429 euros. Among the highlights of this model we find an excellent screen, functions of the most interesting, a Great section of cameras and many years of Android updates. Google Pixel 9 Pro XL (512 GB) * Some price may have changed from the last review LG 75UR76006LL Little by little they look more and more TVs large screen at much more affordable prices. And the smart TV LG 75UR76006LL It is the best example, since in addition to having a large 75 -inch screen, its price has fallen in Mediamarkt from 1,049 euros to 594.15 euros. But not only stands out for having a generous screen in size, but also compatible with Google Assistant and Alexa And it comes with gaming functions and to watch movies and series. LG 75ur76006ll (75 inches) * Some price may have changed from the last review Xiaomi 14t Xiaomi has always been known for being a brand whose devices have an excellent value for money. And the Xiaomi 14t It has been very popular since its launch for this same reason. Although the departure costs 649 euros in its 256 GB version, in just a few months it has received many discounts, being the current one of Amazon the best. By 439 euros We can find it in the store. The highlight is your screen and your cameras signed by Leicabut it also has a good design, excellent performance and enough functions of AI. * Some price may have changed from the last review CMF Nothing Buds Pro 2 The CMF Nothing Buds Pro 2 They are some Bluetooth headphones Very interesting in its price range. This pro version costs only 20 euros more than the standard version of the first generation, and the differences are quite notable. The highlight is its particular design, especially the case that has a Function wheel to adjust the volume or other sound parametersbut it is also interesting to mention that they have hybrid noise cancellation, they have autonomy of up to 43 hours and IP55 certification. Cmf by nothing buds pro 2 * Some price may have changed from the last review Xiaomi Soundbar 2.0ch Usually Sound bars They usually have quite high prices, but there are many economic models that can greatly improve the television audio, thus allowing to have a better experience when watching a movie or series. The Xiaomi Soundbar 2.0ch It is interesting especially for its current price since in PCComponentes we can find it for 49.99 euros with a 50%discount. It can be installed on the wall, Its two speakers offer 30W RMS powerhas a multifunction button and has Bluetooth 5.3. * Some price may have changed from the last review Some of the links of this article are affiliated and can report a benefit to Xataka. In case of non -availability, offers may vary. Images | Google, LG, Xiaomi, CMF In Xataka | The best mobiles, we have tried them and here are their analysis In Xataka | Analysis of the best headphones for less than 100 euros: sound quality, active cancellation, battery, design and tested microphone

The AI ​​fires Microsoft’s income at the expense of huge investments. And now China threatens its strategy

by

Microsoft has presented Its quarterly resultsand thanks to them we already know what he won in 2024 thanks to the AI: 13,000 million dollars. Of course, it is also investing 22.6 billion dollars in infrastructure … each quarter. As if that were not enough, you also have to deal with the threat of Chinese innovation. Why is it important. The figures leave a clear reading: the Financial Equation of AI remains very complex. Generating interesting income – the current ones are already, grow 175% year -on -year – requires huge infrastructure investments. And now Chinese innovation threatens to leave a part of that investment obsolete. The context. Microsoft dominates the business market thanks to its early alliance with Openai, but Deepseek’s irruptionwhich has developed more efficient and cheap models, and open source, has caused a small earthquake in the sector. Microsoft is in a race against time: it needs to monetize its great investment in AI as soon as possible, but now it receives increasing competitive pressure from China. The figures: 13,000 million dollars (annualized) in revenue per year. 22.6 billion dollars invested per quarter in infrastructure. 31% Azure growth, below expectations. 24,110 million dollars of quarterly net profit, 10% more interannual. Exceeded expectations. Marking Agenda. The consolidation of Microsoft as a leader in corporate AI is thanks to Copilot, its Microsoft 365 assistantwhich already has more than 160,000 companies using it … and have created more than 400,000 custom agents, according to the figures published by the company. Microsoft is in full transition to a model where AI is integrated into all its business lines: Windows will incorporate AI capacities in 15% of high -end laptops. LinkedIn uses AI to improve its hiring platform. Xbox Cloud Gaming continues to break records with 140 million hours transmitted. Github co -ilot It has more than 150 million active developers. And the AI ​​stars in a striking contrast in the company’s accounts: while Azure’s income, the great winner of the Nadella era, are growing slower than expected, new business lines based on AI are growing explosively: 157%. Deepen. One of the questions that leave these results is whether Microsoft will be able to maintain this level of investment if Chinese efficiency advances force a price war in AI services. Microsoft defends its strategy arguing that the demand for AI will continue to grow exponentially as the costs are reduced, thus compensating the current investments. The question is whether investors share that optimism. Outstanding image | Microsoft In Xataka | I have tried Deepseek on the web and in my Mac. Chatgpt, Claude and Gemini have a problem

In the middle of a huge “train of storms”, AEMET has just pronounced the most anticipated word of winter: snow

by

The rain no respite and he’s not going to give it. Neither the rain, nor the winds, nor the snow. While the storm Herminia full of red notices the entire northwest part of the peninsula, the forecasts have us all looking at an Atlantic full of surprises. Among them, snow. What Herminia is doing. In recent days, the entire country has been revolving around Herminia. In some regions (such as Galicia) the intensity of the winds forced to divert flights and cancel trains. The worst, however, had not yet passed: this Monday will be the strongest day of the storm. 16 autonomous communities They have notices from the AEMET. Until Tuesday, Herminia will unfold a temporary more than considerable with wind, waves, rain and snow. But, as we said, Herminia is nothing more than the appetizer. According to predictive models, two new storms are going to cross the peninsula. The first will make its debut on the same Wednesday. In fact, on Tuesday a very cold air mass of polar origin will begin to enter the country. We talk about “temperatures at about 5500 meters altitude (500 hPa)”, explained Sergio Escama in Meteored. But the interesting thing is that we will notice it down here. What will we notice? The winter. Winter in its meteorologically pure state. From Wednesday the general drop in temperatures will be evident and snow will affect to the Cantabrian Mountains, the Pyrenees, the Central System, the Iberian System and other inland areas. The snow level is not clear yet, but is expected to be low. And that will be only the first of the post-Herminia storms. Because, according to AEMET modelsafter a very entertaining Wednesday-Thursday with the snow (and its problems); A busy weekend will follow. That is, the “storm train” extends as far as we can reliably see. This precision is important because, although right now there is a possibility that this second storm will be more intense than the previous ones, the time frame prevents us from being able to estimate its virulence accurately. What can we do? Luckily, The recommendations for now are the same: avoid unnecessary trips; prepare for the cold, wind and snow; and pay attention to weather and civil protection updates. We already know that this is one of the great paradoxes of snow: it is something as wonderful and fascinating as it is full of problems. Image | AEMET In Xataka | The best tips for a snow or hail storm

Log In

Forgot password?

Forgot password?

Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password.

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Add to Collection

No Collections

Here you'll find all collections you've created before.