longest

the longest railway tunnel in the world

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Megastructures have a what-do-I-know-what-do-I-know-what makes us love them. It makes perfect sense: They are colossal works that humanity has been doing for millennia and in which we increasingly use more and more sophisticated machinery. There is also a certain sense of competition, and if a few months ago Europe boasted of longest railway tunnel in the worldtoday we have to talk about an even more difficult one: one twice as long and underwater. It is the Bohai Strait Railway Tunnel. AND will be in Chinaclear. Dalian-Yantai. To the sides of Beijing are the provinces of Liaoning and Shandong. The first has 44 million inhabitants. The second, 101 million. They are two important nerve centers in China, but there is a problem: they are separated by the Sea of Bohai and the only way to get from one to the other is by ferry, which takes about eight hours, or by going around the bay on a 1,500-kilometer trip. Given the importance that the area was gaining, in 1992 the idea of ​​a connection across the strait arose that would link the cities of Dalian and Yantai. Although China has accustomed us to mega constructions in record timein this case the logistics were complicated and it was in 2012 when a research group was established under the supervision of the Chinese Academy of Engineering to see if it was viable and, in 2019, they began to talk seriously about the project. Specs. A structure that combined bridges, islands and tunnels – like the Hong Kong Zhuhai-Macao– those in charge of the project agreed that the best solution would be a single railway tunnel whose characteristics are… colossal: 125 kilometers in total, 90 of them underwater. Designed for trains traveling at a speed of 220 km/h. Built 80 meters below the seabed. Two main tunnels of 10 meters in diameter. The most important thing: of the eight hours by ferry or more than ten by car, the journey would take about 40 minutes. It is a considerable reduction in time that will help not only transport people, but also what is most interesting in the region: goods and commerce. Train>car. The price of the tunnel has varied over long of these years. The estimate a decade ago was 200 billion yuan, about 30 billion euros. Currently, it is closer to 300 billion yuan, about 40 billion euros. Everything to unite two of the most powerful regions of China in terms of trade and more than the colossal Three Gorges Dam. HE esteem that it would take about ten years to recover the public-private investment in the infrastructure, and the reason why the tunnel has been planned as a railway tunnel instead of a mixed one (cars plus trains) is for safety reasons. Bohai’s will be more than twice as long as the Eurotunnelso creating such a long underwater tunnel suitable for cars would be extremely expensive and complex as it would require adequate ventilation. Furthermore, in the event of an accident, emergency response would be more difficult. What there will be are shuttle trains that will allow both cars and trucks to be loaded. This is something that is already being explored in other parts of the world and, recently, we have seen it raised in the American transcontinental. Challenges. Now, it’s not going to be easy. The topography of the bay bottom varies between areas of just 10 meters to others that reach almost 90 meters deep. In addition, there are active faults in the area and it is a region with high seismic activity. In fact, it is close to the Tan-Lu fault, one of the most active in China, which implies a thorough study to adapt the structure to possible earthquakes. Ecology. On the other hand, the ecosystem. Apart from being a sensitive area in terms of earthquakes, the tunnel would pass through ecologically sensitive areas. It is the habitat of the spotted seal, protected in China, and also includes migration routes for both fish and birds. You have to wait seated. And if we speak in the future it is because the works have not started. For now, it is about a projectbut in recent months important steps have been taken. In early 2024, the Bohai Tunnel was included in several national strategic documents, and in May this year incorporated to the Development Plan of the Modern Comprehensive Transportation System of the 14th Five Year Plan. In these 30 years, steps have been taken studying the feasibility of the project and exploratory drilling, and more recently more and more voices have emerged that mention the need to promote this Bohai corridor. When will the works begin? It is not known, but 2026-2030 is consider as the window of opportunity for it. Either way, if it ends up happening, Bohai will not only be – by far – the longest underwater railway tunnel in the world: it will also be one of the largest tunnels, overall. Images | Tambo, Ekem In Xataka | China has built the highest bridge in the world and has done what it must: turn it into a show

The longest train in history was born in 2001 and since then no one has surpassed it

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The train is the backbone of many countries. In Europe we know it wellin Latin America is catching up and the China and Japan current ones would not be understood without it. Another country where it is vital is Australia, although more than for the movement of the population, for the transport of goods. And, in 2001, in the heart of Western Australia, the BHP Iron Ore It made history by becoming the longest train in the world. More than seven kilometers long that have not yet been equaled. Necessary. One of the most powerful industries in Australia is mining, so much so that there are even mining influencers that recruit workers from any country. In the late 90s, mining companies faced a challenge: an increasing amount of mineral had to be transported from the source to the export ports. It was a challenge because logistics costs had to be kept under control so that prices did not skyrocket. Traditionally, we would have chosen to put more trains into operation, but it would not be efficient because we would have to pay for more fuel, for the use of the infrastructure and the salaries of a larger crew. Come into play BHPthe Australian giant that is one of the largest mining companies in the world, with an idea: what if we set up a huge train to load iron? This is how the Iron Ore train was born. The BHP Iron Ore train. Its dimensions were extraordinary: a convoy made up of 682 wagons, 5,648 wheels, a loaded weight of almost 100,000 tons and a length of 7,353 kilometers. Imagine 22 Eiffel Towers lying down and aligned, like this. To pull such a monster, eight locomotives GE AC6000CW (each with 6,000 HP) with 16-cylinder engines were distributed throughout the vehicle. Apart from the front, the rest were within a kilometer of each other and managed to complete a 275 kilometer Yandi journey, with a cargo of Newman mines, to Port Hedland in just ten hours. The pace was slow, yes, but the important thing about this was not It was the Guinness record that he achieved, but the proof of a technology called Distributed Power. Distributed Power. This was BHP’s goal, to prove that the technology worked. And it basically consists of what we have said: distributing the locomotives along the train instead of concentrating them in the front so that the traction and braking force is greater, more uniform and, also, more efficient. Everything worked like a Swiss clock thanks to great precision and harmony between the locomotives, which were controlled by a single driver in the front system. It’s long, and there’s no train If Distributed Power was the technology, the control system was the LOCOTROL. The leading locomotive communicated with the remote ones through a radio frequency system that synchronized all acceleration and braking operations. This allowed lateral forces and friction to be drastically reduced when cornering, which reduced both wheel wear and the risk of derailment and, in turn, it is estimated that between 4 and 6% less fuel was consumed. Pilbara. The BHP Iron Ore was a technical prodigy that set the record for the longest train in the world in 2001, but if you are a train enthusiast, don’t pack your bags yet to see it in action: it was a one-time event, so much so that there is very little material about it. Once the technology was proven, what BHP did was apply it to smaller trains. The Pilbara is the region in which much of its operations are concentrated, and what the company currently operates are several regular trains with formations of about four locomotives with about 270 carriages. It is still impressive, since the length of these trains is close to three kilometers and they have a loaded weight of about 40,000 tons. The company’s next steps are to electrify these trains to reduce emissions, and one trick will be to use regenerative braking to recharge the batteries in sloped areas. It is something that other companies are also testing in the country. Similar attempts. Thus, the BHP Iron Ore was a prodigy, but also something unique that has not been matched, not even close, more than 20 years after its launch for that test. In August this year, Indian Railways commissioned the Rudrastraa 354-car, 4.5-kilometer-long train powered by seven locomotives (two at the front and one every 59 cars). And in Europe, tests are also being carried out with distributed power trains, but for kilometer and a half trains. In the end, they are all very far from the Iron Ore both in length and weight, but beyond the record in 2001 it was shown that this distributed power technology was a solution for trains longer than conventional ones. We’ll see if at some point someone needs to create a longer train, but it seems complicated. Images | WabtecBHP In Xataka | The longest train journey in the world: more than 18,000 kilometers between Portugal and Singapore without changing transport

The longest railway tunnel in the world

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China is the name that comes to mind to Talk about megaconstructions. The country has faced some of the more complex works of these last years and has pharaonic projects such as the New largest dam in the world or the more complicated tunnel. In this matter, Europe is not far behind with two projects that want to be the longest tunnels in the world in different fields are fields: that of the Greater tunnel submerged, with 120 kilometersand the longest rail tunnel in the world: Brennero base. A 2006 project that finally gives results. Brennero’s base tunnel. We are talking about a work that has been dilated a lot, with several changes in estimated plans and dates of completion. Construction officially began in 2007but the excavations did not start until 2015. It is part of the European Scandinavia-Mediterranean (or Scan-Med) and will have the Munich-Verona axis. The objective is to facilitate communication between countries by saving an imposing natural obstacle: Alps. This is something important in order to improve Commercial and passenger network in Europe because trains are becoming the tool for depend less on the plane in full way to decarbonization And, in addition to allowing a faster connection between Germany and Italy, much of the Alpine merchandise traffic from the road to the railroad will be transferred. The idea is less traffic jams on roads, less CO₂ emissions and, obviously, a Acceleration in logistics between northern and southern Europe. Colossal. The characteristics From the tunnel, they impose. In total, it will have a length of 64 kilometers, which will make it, according to its drivers, into the longest railway tunnel in the world when it enters into operation. The main section between the Italian city of Fortezza and the Austrian Innsbruck will have about 55 kilometers in length and will be composed of two parallel tunnels with a single route each. They will be connected every 333 meters by service tunnels to allow rapid evacuation in case of failure and something unique is that it will be a “flat” tunnel, with almost the entire journey to about 794 meters above sea level. This is necessary to allow operating the trains with lower consumptionsince in some current paths through the Alpine region there are trains that need several locomotives due to the inclination of the road. Beyond transportation. The idea is that it allows the passage of merchandise trains of up to 3,000 tons and passenger trains that can circulate at high speed (250 km/h compared to the current 50 km/h average due to the demands of the land), but since they are piercing the mountain, they will take advantage of something else. A dozen meters under the main galleries, there will be another five -meter diameter tunnel and others almost 56 kilometers long. Will be what is known as a Exploratory Tunnela channel that will allow geological research in that mountainous area, in addition to facilitating a drainage of groundwater. State and next steps. At first, the bridge was going to be ready by 2025, but the estimates were changing. The Alps is a complex area Due to the presence of failures and groundwater, which has forced both excavation methods and solutions to pass under rivers and the isarco. Administrative delays have also played a role in this story because Austria and Italy are building their respective sides of the tunnel. And the Covid-19 pandemic forced the work. All this raised the initially planned budget of 6,000 million euros to almost 8.4 billion, but recently we have witnessed a green outbreak. Using excavators like ‘Flavia‘That they allow digging while the tunnel has, on September 18 the Italian and Austrian tunneladoras They found themselvesachieving the underground connection between the two countries. It was a milestone, but there is still work to do to cover the tunnels, display rail infrastructure and add both technical equipment and ventilation and signaling systems. Piercing the Alps. The view is set in 2032, when it is estimated that the works will end and the tunnel can be exploited to move goods and passengers. Now, although colossal, it is not the only project that is currently under development in the Alpine region. Interestingly, several compete for being the longest railway tunnel in the world. The other great exponent of this corridor is that of Mont Cenis That, with 57.5 kilometers, Lyon will join with Turin. There is also the San Gardardo base with 57.1 kilometers (It will link the Swiss towns of Erstfeld and Bodio in Italy) and more ‘modest’ projects such as those of Koralm (32 km), Semmering (27 km), Ceneri (14.5 km) and Lötschberg (34.6 km). Of course, the objective is the same: to facilitate transalpine transport to reduce CO₂ emissions and speed up the movement of both travelers and merchandise. We will see if, now, construction deadlines are fulfilled. Images | BBT-SE In Xataka | Japan created an artificial peninsula to make an airport. You will soon have an submarine airport

It will be one of the longest lunar eclipses of the decade

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The Romans said “Origo” to refer to the origin, so they used “orior” as a verb born. From there came “Ortus” for the birth of the sun, better known as dawn. “Ortho” in Spanish is defined as the exit of a star by the horizon. And this Sunday, With the lunar eclipsethe moon will have a beautiful ortho. A total moon eclipse. Every year there are at least two lunar eclipses, but they are not always total. This Sunday, September 7, will be one of the longest in the decade, with a totality of 82 minutes visible from most Asia. It can also be seen already started From most of Spainwith the moon very low on the horizon. But it will not be visible from America. A lunar eclipse occurs when the earth is aligned between the sun and the moon in full moon phase, and its shadow is projected on the lunar disc. The earth’s shadow has two zones: the gloom, which darkens the moon subtly, and the umbra, which blocks sunlight. In the case of a partial eclipse, the umbra looks like a bite, and in the case of a total eclipse, the full moon darkens. A blood moon. During the totality phase, The moon can become redwhat is known as blood moon. Although the umbra blocks the sunlight, the Earth’s atmosphere refracts solar light filtered towards the satellite. In this case, the blue wavelengths are dispersed by a physical phenomenon known as Rayleight dispersion, hence the red tones predominate. The blood moon this Sunday will reach its most intense point at 20:11. If you are in Spain, the moon will be totally eclipsed, reddish color. Even so, with a clear horizon, you can see the best part of the show, especially from the Balearic Islands and the Mediterranean coast of the Peninsula. On the other hand, visibility will be low to the west, particularly in the Canary Islands and Western Galicia, where only the partial phase of the end of the eclipse can be seen. The full schedule of the eclipse. In the peninsular hour (UTC+2), the Moon will enter a gloom (slight darkening) on ​​Sunday at 17:28. The partial phase of the eclipse (the bite) will begin to be seen at 18:27, but only in the countries where the moon is already out. The totality phase (the moon is completely inside the Umbra) will begin at 19:31 and will end at 20:53. Then the partial phase will be repeated until 21:56 and the Penumbral until 22:55. What will be seen from Spain. The visible phases will depend on whether the moon is whether or not where you are. In Madrid, the Moon will leave at 20:35, so they can be seen about 18 minutes. In general, the moon will leave the horizon totally eclipsed and dyed red from most of the country, with the exception of western Galicia and Canary Islands, where only a partial eclipse will be seen. In Barcelona: 41 minutes of totality from 20:11 In Valencia: 32 minutes of totality from 20:20 In Seville: 10 minutes of totality from 20:42 In Zaragoza: 28 minutes of totality from 20:24 In Malaga: 17 minutes of totality from 20:35 In Murcia: 30 minutes of totality from 20:22 In Palma: 44 minutes of totality from 20:08 In Las Palmas: only partial from 20:15 (UTC+1) In Bilbao: 18 minutes of totality from 20:34 In Valladolid: 12 minutes of totality from 20:39 In Vigo: only partial from 20:56 In Gijón: 7 minutes of totality from 20:45 Where you have to look. Unlike a solar eclipse, seeing a lunar eclipse is totally safe with the naked eye and with prismatic. Since in Spain it coincides with the exit of the moon, it will be best to look for a place with the horizon is clear (a beach of the coast, a viewpoint, a roof …) and wait for the satellite to rise, already eclipsed and red, for the sky. Image | Liquidcrash (Flickr, CC by-SA 2.0) In Xataka | Total Eclipse of September 2025: When is it and how you can see it in Spain

We have just measured the longest ray ever registered on Earth: 829 kilometers D

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The rays are huge electrical discharges that in a fraction of second run through the distance between the clouds and the surface of the earth, a distance that can be several kilometers. However, lightning can go to distances a pair of superior magnitude orders. And this is one of those cases. The longest ray. The World Meteorological Organization has confirmed The longest ray observation ever registered. The electric shock toured a distance of 829 kilometers, with a margin of error of about 8 km. To put it in perspective, that is approximately the distance that separates in a straight line Barcelona from Seville. Although the validation by the United Nations Meteorological Office arrived this Thursday, the event occurred almost eight years ago, In October 2017in the United States. The great plains. The ray with its ramifications reached the skies of five states in the central and southern United States. The beginning of his “route” was on the east of the state of Texas, and his end was close to Kansas City, in Missouri. His tour and ramifications also made him pass through the states of Arkansasa, Kansas and Oklahoma. The region of the great plains where lightning was also known as Tornado Alleythe “Alley of Tornados”. This area, the OMM points out, stands out for being one of the areas “with the greatest storm activity known as Mesoescala convective systems”, which also makes it an ideal area for the formation of these “megarrayos.” For 61 km. As explained by the OMM, the new record exceeds 61 km the previous record. That ray also happened in the United States, but later, in April 2020, and reached 768 km, also with a margin of error of 8 km. In both cases, the detection and measurement of these rays was carried out through a method called Maximum Circle Arch. In addition, the OMM emphasizes that the 2017 ray was one of the first events measured with the help of the operational geostationary satellite for the study of the environment of the R (GOES-16) of the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). They also explain that this “megary” went unnoticed in a first analysis of the storm, and was not discovered until the review of the data compiled during the stormy episode. Now the details of the analysis carried out by the OMM team have been published In a working document of the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. Improving prevention. The study of the rays goes beyond establishing records that feed our curiosity about these violent phenomena. Improving our study tools and knowing these events better is key to reducing the risk they imply in several contexts, from aviation to forest fires. “Rays, although they are a source of astonishment, also constitute a great danger that is charged numerous lives every year worldwide, which makes these phenomena one of the priorities of the international initiative an early warns for all,” pointed in a press release Celeste Saulo, general secretary of the OMM. “This record highlights important issues for public security with respect to electrified clouds, (…) that may have serious repercussions on the aviation sector, as well as cause forest fires.” Carrying the accounts. The OMM is the institution in charge of Register extreme atmospheric events Throughout the world, an archive that has other records protected by great magnitude rays. For examplethe lightest ray registered lasted no less than 17 seconds (17,102 ± 0.002 s, specifically), and was captured in Argentina in June 2020. The direct impact of greater size was recorded in 1975 in Zimbabwe, and cost the lives of 21 people. However, the greatest indirect impact occurred in 1994, in Dronka (Egypt), and resulted in 469 people deceased when causing the fire of oil deposits. In Xataka | Two years ago a cosmic ray hit the earth. No one knows where it came from Image | Pixabay (File image)

We know exactly where and when the longest solar eclipse will occur in history: our great -great grandchildren will see it

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On July 16, 2186, the Moon will align perfectly between Earth and the Sun, creating an unprecedented eclipse. Unless Millionaire eccentric determined to rejuvenate Be successful, none of us will be here to see it. But our descendants will want to spend that day somewhere in Colombia, Venezuela or Guyana. 7 minutes and 29 seconds. The longest total solar eclipse in history will exceed in almost two seconds the duration of the record until now: the eclipse of June 15 of the year 743 AC, which reached a totality of 7 minutes and 27 seconds on the Indian Ocean, near the current Kenya and Somalia. No eclipse will have lasted so much From before 4000 ACand none will do it until after 8000 AD, so we can be sure that it will be a really unique astronomical event. The total solar eclipse of longer duration in an interval of 12,000 years. The moon will obscure South America. The historical solar eclipse of 7 minutes and 29 seconds will not occur on the mainland: the strip of totality will reach its largest duration over the Atlantic Ocean. However, northern South America will also enjoy extraordinarily long totalities. Especially in Colombia (from Cali to Puerto Ayacucho), Venezuela (from the Orinoco to Imataca) and Guyana (throughout the northern half of the country, including Georgetown). The show will not be limited to that narrow strip. Virtually all South America, including the entire Brazilian territory, can observe a partial eclipse of great magnitude. The eclipse will also be partially visible from Mexico to Paraguay, and west of Africa. In Spain, the Canary Islands will barely touch at sunset. Why it will last so long. The reason for this extreme duration is a “perfect storm” in the positions of the three bodies. The Earth will be at its point farther from the sun (its aphelium), which will make the solar disk look slightly smaller. The Moon, meanwhile, will be at its closest point to Earth (its perigee), so its apparent album will be larger. And finally, the eclipse trajectory will pass very close to Ecuador Earth. This combination maximizes the time that the shadow of the moon takes to sweep the surface of the earth. How we are so sure. Eclipses’ prediction is one of the most successful feats of computational astronomy. The scientists feed their superorders with the current positions and speeds of the Earth and the Moon, and then use Newton’s Movement Laws to know what will happen within several centuries or even millennia. These algorithms are actually models that integrate gravitational equations to project their positions in the future. And they do it with amazing precision, usually with a margin of error of less than one minute over hundreds of years. Primo brother of a recent eclipse. The total solar eclipse of 2186 belongs to the same “lineage” as the great eclipse of North America of April 8, 2024, The Saros 139 cycle. A cycle of Saros is a period of approximately 18 years, 11 days and 8 hours, after which the Sol-Tierra-Luna geometry is repeated almost identically, producing a very similar eclipse but displaced about 120 degrees to the west. The discussions among the eclipses enthusiasts already fantasize about how the hunting of this event will be in 2186. There is talk of flotles of cruises positioned in the Atlantic and flights in hypersonic airplanes to pursue the shadow and further extend the experience of totality. Although we can only imagine it, it is a fascinating reminder of how science allows us to travel in time and be witnesses, at least on paper, of the wonders that the cosmos reserve for future generations. Image | THAT In Xataka | Two European ships synchronized in space to create an artificial eclipse. It is a before and after in solar science

China wanted to be the queen of high -speed trains. So he built all the longest bridges in the world

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Although Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are immersed in a war for have the highest skyscrapers in the worldwhen we talk about megaconstructions, there is no one to have China. It doesn’t matter if we talk about tunnels, Dams, roads and even half -skyscraper. And, when we talk about bridges, there yes There is no rival. From time to time They complete a new pharaonic bridgebut if there is something that shows China’s muscle about it, they are the bridges of the Beijing-Shanghái line. Because it is in it where the three longest bridges are located in the world. Massive and … boring? He Great Danyang-Kunshan bridge It is the longest bridge in the world. It measures just over 164 kilometers and can also be the most boring bridge in the world. The reason is that it is a bridge in which functionality prevailed. It is part of the high -speed network that joins Beijing and Shanghai and in its construction, 10,000 workers used 450,000 tons of steel and 2.3 million m3 of concrete to give life to a structure that had to endure possible ships of ships and the impact of earthquakes. It has 2,000 pillars, 22 tunnels, it has an average altitude of just over 30 meters and trains circulate at a speed of more than 320 km/h. Declaration of intentions. The most striking thing is that it only took four years to complete the work. It is an achievement if we consider that other bridges, such as the Constitution of Cádizthey took more than seven years for about three kilometers. They began in 2006 and the works were completed in 2010, inaugurating both the bridge and the line in 2011. The investment? 8,500 million dollars, and although in later bridges we have seen an aesthetic intention by the engineers, that of Danyang-Kunshan was a declaration of intentions. It became a global reference in rail engineering, but above all in a sample of the Technological advance of the country when undertaking the Infrastructure construction large scale in record time. It is something that has also attracted attention to subsequent works, the speed at which things do, especially, in many occasions of works of great complexity. In dark red, the bridge. In clear red, part of the full line Beijing-Shanghai, a monster. Because although this bridge Have the Guiness record in length and it was an important technical advance, the most imposing thing is that it is only a piece of the puzzle that supposes the high -speed line Between Beijing and Shanghai. It is a connection with a length of 1,318 kilometers and, apart from that of Danyang-Kunshan, there are three other bridges that are on the list of the 10 longest in the world. He Great Bridge of Cangde measures 115.9 kilometers and the Great Tianjin Bridge It “stays” at 113.7 kilometers. The three are the longest in the world, and in the seventh place on the list is the Great Bridge of Beijingwith 48.2 kilometers. The four were completed for the inauguration of the line in 2011, assuming a pharaonic work and, in total, representing a third of the total line length. The artificial island of the Hong-Kong-Zhuhai-Macao bridge, which is a bridge over the water until it becomes a submarine “bridge” It is called obsession. Because, if we look at the list of the longest trains in the world, China is a constant, monopolizing with eight structures the top ten positions. Not only are they very long bridges to house train lines (the Weinan Weije It has 102.7 kilometers, but it is not from the Beijing-Shanghai line), also for roads. The fifth longest bridge in the world is Hong-Kong-Zhuhai-Macaohe longest maritime bridge With 55 kilometers (and, this yes, quite attractive), the eighth of the list is the Quingdao Haiwanwith another 44.5 kilometers of road and the tenth is the bridge of line 1 of the Wuhan Metro with 37.7 kilometers. Within those positions of honor, we only find a 54 -kilometer Thai bridge, the Band Na Expresswayand the Lake Pontchartrain Road in the United States with 38.4 kilometers. Images | Mnxanl(2) Pechristener, Highestbridges In Xataka | Three highways, 20 access ramps: China has the most diabolical exchanger in the world in Huangjuewan

NASA’s longest -lived astronaut has returned to the land in his 70th birthday. We are left without the best space photographer

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There are ways and ways to celebrate a birthday, but few like Don Petit’s. He NASA’s longest active astronaut He returned to Earth after seven months at the International Space Station just the day he turned 70. A bittersweet milestone because, although it is healthy and safe, we lose the unique perspective of one of the best photographers of space. Delicated landing in the kazaja steppe. 220 days after its launch aboard the Soyuz MS-26 Russian capsule landed on the plains of Kazakhstan Together with his crew companions, the Russian cosmonauts Aleksey Ovchinin (53 years old) and Ivan Vagner (39 years old). The landing occurred without technical setbacks, although with a small scare: Pettit needed immediate medical attention when extracted from the capsule. The cameras captured him practically motionless after landingwhich revived the debate on the Russian practice to expose the crew instead of prioritizing its intimacy, as is done in the United States and China. 70th birthday, and farewell? “When our capsule lands on those desert plains, I will be literally on the other side of the earth, almost 19,000 kilometers from home. However, I will be at home,” Don Pettit wrote from the orbit shortly before returning. A reflection that puts in perspective what ‘home’ means after seven months seeing the earth 400 km high, from the International Space Station. This has been the fourth space mission for Petit, which accumulates a total of 590 days in space. Despite being NASA’s longest astronaut, it is only the tenth human being that accumulates more time outside the earth. With 48 active astronauts in the space agencythe last incorporated in 2022, it should be thought that this could be its last mission to space. Goodbye to the ISS photographer. If we will miss this astronaut is his extraordinary ability for photography. Pettit is one of the best photographers who have gone through the ISS and during this last mission, he has given us spectacular images again: The dairy and Starlinks: one of its last captures shows the core of our galaxy and zodiac light, with Starlink satellitous steles crossing in the frame Reimaginated terrestrial landscapes: using infrared filters or playing with the reflection of the sun, Petit reveals hidden details of oceanic currents or terrestrial geology with an almost pictorial quality Atmospheric phenomena: captured impressive northern lights during the intense new year solar activity and contributed to the study of elusive “transient light events” (Tles), electric discharges on storms Long exhibition: Master of this technique, has created iconic images of stars steles or the night lights of cities turned into rivers of light by the Iss orbital movement More than photos. Chemical Training and Scientific Engineer rather than Astronaut, Pettit’s creativity is not limited to photography .. invented A cup of coffee to drink without straw taking advantage of the surface tension of the microgravity fluid. And a device that compensates for the movement of the International Space Station to obtain more clear nightcare photos on Earth. It is also Famous for his “Opportunity Science”small experiments carried out in their free time to demonstrate physical principles in microgravity. To play with drops of water charged electrostátically to freeze ice sheets To study their crystals with polarized filters in the freezers of the station. With the return of Soyuz MS-26, expedition 73 is under the command of Japanese Takuya Onishi. He is accompanied by NASA Astronauts Anne McClain, Nichole Ayers and Jonny Kim, and Russian cosmonauts Kirill Peskov, Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky. In Xataka | The best photos from the International Space Station are made by the same astronaut: Don Pettit

The longest land border in the world made by the human being is a gigantic firewall between the US and Canada

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One of the most controversial borders of the last weeks is, curiously, one in which there are no war conflicts: the one that separates Canada from the United States. It is a peculiar border, with numerous rural points without surveillance and whose straight line looks like a gigantic firewall visible from spaceliterally dividing what he finds in his path. And, although it seems that something like this is a vote of confidence among good neighbors, the latest events show that even the world’s least monitored border can become tensions scenario. The longest in the world. It extends along the whopping of 8,891 kilometers and, with the signing of the Treaty of Paris Of 1783, there were the first steps to define limits in the territory of future United States and British Columbia. It was the moment in which the United States War of Independence was put an end, but the final demarcation of the border would take more than a century to arrive, and would do so in the form of a gigantic firewall. Literally: There is no need to throw imagination: that central line extends thousands and thousands of kilometers The ‘firewall’. The upper image represents a tiny border segment, in one of the rural areas. It is taken from Google Maps Because it is a border of the most visual (and I encourage you to throw a rare sailing through the app discovering curious cases). If a river or a mountain range does not physically separate the territory, Canadians and American are distanced by a gigantic firewall who, in much of the border, is still a straight line that divides forest, rural and even cities. The entire central part of the border and even the Pacific responds to that design based on parallel 49 After the Treaties of Paris and Jaythere were still fringes that would not be resolved until decades later, but one of the decisive moments arrived at the London Convention of 1818. In it, the 49 parallel was established as the border between the two countries, from the Lake Forests to the Rocky Mountains. In 1846, the Oregon treaty The witness collected, continuing the decision that the 49 parallel marked the border from the roco mountains to the Pacific, except a Vancubert that remained in the northern domains. The firewall and a road portion that gets into Canada … and returns to the US Even so, there were borders that were still clear, such as Alaska, so arbitration was created specifically designed for that border. In 1908 the border was consolidated in the International Limits Commission. It was then that the decision was made to physically demarcate the division, creating an immense firewall or strip that definitely marked the limits of each country. The border is full of these markers that delimit the state to which each area belongs Together, but not scrambled. Imagine that you are playing a video game and you want to define a division without you care where the lines fall. Well, a similar case is the one that is lived in some locations that have part of the territory in the United States and part in Canada. It is not that there are curious cases such as Mexico City (which on one side of the street are in the State of Mexico and, in the other, in Mexico City), but that there are buildings with a division that marks that its plant is in two different countries. An example is the Library of Derby Line, Vermont, or Stanstead, Quebec (depends on the side of the border on which you are). On the floor of the reading room there is a black line that marks the country where you are, being one of the most curious cases, but not the only one. In Vermont and Quebec there are houses that catch in the middle of the border, cases such as the Halfway house, which was a tavern/hotel built in 1820 before that part of the border was established and other examples of land with part in the United States and another part in Canada. The house in the US, the tools house in Canada Golf cart parked in the US, Hoyos in Canada Half of the house pays taxes on one side, the other in the other. It is a joke, but there are few constructions that share country Point Roberts. But there are not only lands split in half: also areas that belong to one of the two countries and those that are only land link through the opposite nation. Maybe Alaska is the most famous – also the largest – and, although connected by the Arctic and the Pacific through ship, if you want to go by land you can only through Canada. Point Roberts is one of the curious examples. It is located in the state of Washington and is the ‘piquito’ of a peninsula only accessible by land through Canada. It is one of those cases in which you cross a street and pass from the Canadian city Delta to the American Point Roberts. Point Roberts Something similar occurs with Elm Point, a small uninhabited cape surrounded by lake except by the north, being Canadian territory and the only way to access by land. There are many more examples like this, such as the island of Province whose southern end belongs to the United States and where we can see another example of that firewall we were talking about before. Elm Point Elm Point closely Machias Seal. But of course, so many situations of a territory cut by the border gives rise to some tensions, and the best example of this is that of the Machias Seal Island. It is an island in the Gulf of Maine that is administered by Canada, but which the United States claims as theirs. No one lives, but there is a lighthouse built in 1832 in which Canada maintains Coast Guard personnel. And the reason for this interest on the … Read more

To build the longest world bridge, China turned to a peculiar material: bamboo

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Although Saudi Arabia and Arab Emirates are immersed in a particular war for have the most beast buildingstalking about megaconstructions is to automatically look at China. The Asian giant has some of the works more tremendous, impossible bridges and even Higher abandoned skyscraper in the world. And one of those pharaonic constructions is the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao bridge. With a length of 55 kilometers, it turns out that it is not only formed by steel and concrete: the secret ingredient is bamboo. And according to those responsible, continue like the first day. The bridge. After six years of planning and another eight of construction, in 2018 China opened the imposing bridge that connects Macao and Zhuhai. Its 55 kilometers, 6.2 of them underground, allow to convert a trip that previously lasted three hours into a ‘walk’ of just 30 minutes. And something that resonated in its day was the 420,000 tons of steel (which would be equivalent to 60 Eiffel towers), its more than one million cubic meters of concrete and the flexibility necessary to support typhoons and earthquakes. It is a barbarity, with an underground stretch that disappears and emerges from the sea It looks like a ship, but it is one of the two inputs/exits of the sea Bamboo. It turns out that the mixture added a plant: bamboo. And it is something that is not so weird, since, as we can read In South China Morning Post, China is the largest bamboo producer in the world and is something to give way. In the aforementioned bridge, this element was used on the panoramic platforms that are found throughout the same and the official newspaper Science and Technology commented a few days ago that, after six years installed, these panels have resisted sunlight, typhons and The corrosion of seawater, keeping “as solid as ever.” One more element. Lou Zhichao is a member of the Bamboo Research Institute of the Forestry University of Bamboo and pointed out that, apart from in China, bamboo occurs mainly in developing countries, which gives China a unique advantage and position to the time to process this bamboo. His team, in fact, has been developing more advanced technologies to process bamboo a decade, causing the process to emit less co₂ while encouraging the use of bamboo under constructions due to a relationship between resistance and weight higher than some alloys of some alloys of some alloys of steel. In addition, it can replace wood, plastic and steel itself in some constructions. Bamboo II. Now, although it has interesting properties, it also has a problem: it is prone to decomposition. This means that when bamboo facilities are done, toxic preservatives must be used that make the material much less ecological. The chickens that come through those that come out in environmental matters, basically. And, precisely, the Zhichao team has been working in recent years. One of its latest advances in research is a heat treatment that eliminates nutrients that cause the accelerated decomposition of the material. This allows to reduce its processing time by 50% while increasing durability outdoors without antimoho treatments. Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas airport. You don’t have to go to China to see great structures in which bamboo is clear protagonist. In Spain we have examples such as Madrid airport Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas, in which the roof of terminal 4 is formed by lames 100 mm wide of bamboo sheet. In total, there are 200,000 m² of bamboo with fire resistance and was the ideal material due to the peculiar curved forms of the terminal roof design. It is also a material that was raised for the Futurist Ciudad Oceanix City And the protagonist of the bamboo towers that Paris wants to build for 2050. And scaffolding. Beyond in places as punished as a bridge in such a complicated area and applications in other buildings, bamboo is absolute protagonist in Hong Kong. Specifically, in its skyscrapers, like an exoskeleton that really is a system of Scaffolding During the construction of buildings. For the rest, Zhichao continues to work to expand the use of bamboo as high quality material for several reasons. One because it absorbs 50% more co₂ than common trees. Another because it is estimated that its crop and market benefits some 50 million people throughout the country. And, therefore, he hopes that the government “finance the development of key technologies and reinforce regulation by national and local standards to boost the industry.” Industry tech. Apart from in structures, bamboo is positioning as a material that can be very useful in other sectors. An example is that of consumer technology not as an element that goes within the devices, but as part of the packaging. A few years ago, on a visit to the Innovation Center of Lenovo, They told ushow they were starting to use bamboo in the boxes of their laptops. Bamboo box to the right. On the left too, but after a year underground. The reasons were environmental due to the degradation of their fibers in normal conditions in nature. In fact, it can be buried directly in the garden to use it as fertilizer. In the photo that we leave just on these lines you can see two boxes, one new and one after a year underground, to appreciate its degree of decomposition. And, that sustainability is one of the keys (along with many others, of course) of decarbonization. Images | Xataka, Moso, NRG800, Chronus, HMZB, Chris 73, Kamakura In Xataka | After 120 years of growth, a Japanese bamboo has just flourished. And that is a problem

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