technologies

why Gen Z has fallen in love with technologies that they did not experience

by

Technology has been sneaking into almost every corner of everyday life for decades: how we communicate, how we save memories, how we listen to music or how we entertain ourselves. ada generation has enjoyed its own innovations: from the Walkman to the compact camera, including the Game Boy and the Nintendo DS. As the years went by, many of these devices seemed destined to remain as relics in a drawer, surpassed by increasingly powerful mobile phones capable of concentrating almost all possible functions in a single device. However, in the era of the smartphone, AI or virtual reality, some of these “relics” are regaining prominence among recent generations. Compact digital cameras, retro consoles or cassettes reappear in second-hand stores or in TikTok videos where the young people who use them have not witnessed their birth or their rise. Nostalgia or novelty? The “return” or growing interest in vintage technology could be explained as a new wave of nostalgia. Alvaro Soler, sociologist and disseminator in social networksspeaks of a “retro utopia”: an idealized look capable of commercializing aesthetics and products from the past. “May we consume again retro technology “It has to do with the consumption of retro culture,” he explains, giving as an example the success of series like Stranger Thingswhich “make us go back to the 80’s, with consoles and arcade games, but also with fashion, music…”. In this way, Soler explains the market’s ability to take advantage of previous designs or products and present them as something attractive and desirable again. This is precisely one of the nuances that explains the return of retro from places beyond nostalgia. Although some of these devices do awaken memories and have a nostalgic connotation for those who grew up with them, not all the young people who recover them today have used them. In fact, many of them become familiar with these devices through social networks. Soler attributes to these platforms the power that classic advertising had before. They also come into play influencerswhom Soler defines as “figures of success or in whom you have to see yourself reflected.” In many cases, he adds, a large part of their identity is built through what they consume and display. This makes those who follow them more likely to be interested in or consume what they show in their profiles, including vintage technology. Thus, although many young people have not grown up with these devices, they can become desirable objectsassociated with an aesthetic or a way of being in the world. What for some is nostalgia, for others becomes a new necessity. This is the case of Lara, a young woman – who prefers to keep her identity private – who is fond of analog cameras from the 70s (like the Zenit). Although he did not experience either the arrival or the rise of these devices, he confesses in conversation with Xataka find something “unique” about them that attracts you. A camera not to scroll The return of this type of technology also has another reading. For Claudia Pradas, psychologist and disseminator on social networksin a young population overexposed to constant stimuli, screens and immediate rewards, “a more limited technology can be psychologically attractive” because “it reduces the load.” Compared to the mobile phone, which is at the same time a camera, console and music player, these devices have a single functiona restriction that can feel like a relief. “We are constantly exposed to super-overloaded technology that can fatigue us,” he explains, while these devices “can promote relaxation or deactivation of the nervous system, generating well-being.” Therefore, instead of interpreting this boom as a rejection of the new, Pradas proposes reading it as a search for alternatives: devices that allow us to continue using technology but at a different pace. The type of experience they offer also influences. “Old” devices force a more physical relationship that moves away from using the smartphone: insert a cartridge, rewind, press buttons, print a photo… For Pradas, that tactile dimension is key. In a context of digital saturation, “a sensory experience beyond the visual and auditory can help us become more rooted in the present.” Sociologist Soler agrees that the search for disconnection is one of the factors behind this return to previous technologies. Many of these retro consoles, he explains, they do not depend on the internet: they allow you to continue using digital technology, but without constant connection or online services. Something similar happens with photographs. Uploading images to networks or storing them in the cloud does not generate the same relationship with memories as printing them and saving them in an album. On the Internet, he says, images can become more volatile, get lost among thousands of files or become diluted in the continuous flow of content. Instead, developing photos or physically preserving them creates another way of relating to time and memory, “more tangible and lasting.” In a context of hyperconnectivity, changing memories from the digital environment to the physical dimension can also function as a way to organize and preserve what we really want to remember. This power of disconnection is corroborated by Elena, a 23-year-old young woman whose playing with practically discontinued consoles evokes the same tranquility as “when you watch a movie you’ve seen 200 times”; The simplicity of these devices gives you the calm that current video games do not achieve. “Right now (video games) are like a movie, but before everything happened on a very small screen with drawings that could even be in black and white,” he points out. The simplicity and the imperfection that characterize old games—and that extends to the grain of a compact camera or the less clean sound of a vintage player—are part of their appeal. In the face of increasingly perfect and faster devices, these small failures or limitations are perceived almost as a mark of authenticity and humanity. “Old analog cameras have nothing to do with cell phone photographs. I don’t take photos with my cell phone because for me … Read more

The electronic war is lying the technologies in Ukraine. So Russia has returned to World War II: horse soldiers

by

In the month of June Some images They highlighted a dangerous evolution of assault tactics, one where the Russian army began to Use motorcycles as a main tool to move towards the Ukrainian lines, in an attempt to avoid the destruction of their armored Modern to the power of drones. Now, the electronic war in Ukraine has turned each technological innovation into a weapon with the days counted. Solution? The return of the cavalry. A symbolic return. Yes, the war in Ukraine, characterized by a massive deployment of drones, precision artillery and electronic war, has led the Russian army to explore solutions of archaic appearance: the Reintroduction of horses On the battlefield. What began as improvisations With donkeys and horses To transport supplies in the front, it has evolved towards formal training units mounted, according to The Kommersant newspaper. The idea greatly reflects the point of the dead to which modern technologies have reached a saturated front of electronic interference, where even the most sophisticated systems have been limited, forcing resort to basic methods that evoke the wars of the past. Training and tactics. In the Donetsk region, the commander of the “Storm” unit of the 9th Brigade has organized Horse training for assault troops. Exercises, video recorded and released in pro -government channels Like “Wargonzo”show soldiers galloping through open fields, some sharing a mount: one controls the animal and the other prepares to open fire. The approach is that, once the objective is achieved, both combatants dismantle and advance on foot against the enemy position. The tests also seek that horses get used to noise of shooting and explosions, minimizing the risk of being scared in combat. Its alleged advantages include the ability to move at night, accelerate without roads and, according to Russian controls, guide themselves by instinct to avoid mines. Limitations and symbolism. Despite these virtues, the use of horses raises important inconveniences: their weight can detonate antipersonnel mines, require constant food and care, and have a load capacity much lower than that of armored vehicles. Therefore, even Kommersant emphasizes that the cavalry will hardly be deployed on a large scale and that the measure is, above all, a symbolic gesture in a conflict that, despite being the scene of leading technologies, has forced the parties to also resort to rudimentary solutionsfrom analog telephone lines to cargo animals. The stamp of Russian soldiers on horseback contrasts with the official story of technological innovation and highlights the material and tactical wear of the campaign. Cavalry Brigade of the SS in Russia, 1941 The vintage resource. The resource for horses is not the first Russian attempt to use unconventional alternatives in the front. It We have counted before: units have been documented in motorcycles, quads, and even E-SCOOTERS AND MONOCICLOS electric, with unequal results. In particular, motorcyclist brigades destined to evade Ukrainian drones have suffered Massive casualties: The open field exposure and the absence of coverage made them easy blank, with most bikers eliminated before achieving their goals. The commitment to cavalry reflects the same logic: Quick and low -cost solutions to an enemy with technological advantage, although without guarantees of real effectiveness in combat. Military stagnation The context of this equine return is the stagnation of the Russian offensive. Between September 20 and 30, Moscow only achieved advance 29 square kmand although in the whole of the month he added 447, most of the profits occurred in little disputed rural areas. In Donetsk, where the “Storm” unit is concentrated, Russia barely He won 181 square kilometersone of its lowest records in a year. The front has been practically frozen for weeks, which has forced the Kremlin to resort to propaganda measures To show dynamism, while Ukraine recognizes difficulties, but maintains resistance in key nuclei such as Pokrovsk and Dobropillia. Echoes of the twentieth century. The return of horses to the battlefield is not an exclusive phenomenon of war in Ukraine. During World War II, both Germany and the Soviet Union They used cavalry In patrol operations and logistics support, while Poland was hard stigmatized by the famous riders of riders against tanks in 1939a partially exaggerated myth but showed the obsolescence of classical cavalry against mechanization. In the Soviet Union, however, mounted units are They used effectively In wooded environments and in the antipartisan struggle, where their mobility offered advantages that vehicles could not match. In subsequent conflicts, horses They reappeared in low intensity wars or in difficult access scenarios. Afghan resistance against Soviet invasion in the 1980s depended largely of horses and mules to transport weapons in mountainous terrain. Paradoxically, after 11-S, the US special forces deployed in Afghanistan They turned to horses To move with its local allies, an image that became a symbol of the clash between the technological war of the 21st century and the indomitable geography of the Hindu Kush. The paradox. The image of Russian soldiers galloping Between drones and artillery summarizes the paradox of the war in Ukraine: in a conflict turned into a showcase of military innovations (Drones swarms, artificial intelligence applied to combat, Hypersonic weapons and Electronic War), the fatigue of materials and the tactical blockade have returned to the battlefield tools typical of another era. While it is unlikely that modern cavalry changes the course of the contest, His mere reappearance It is a powerful symbol of to what extent the war in Ukraine has stressed the limits of technology and has forced to reimagine, even with primitive means, the way of fighting. Image | Wargonzo In Xataka | An AIM-9X missile cost a million dollars to tear down a Russian drone. Ukraine has found the solution for 2,000 dollars In Xataka | In a crucial Ukraine agreement he has given the US his best weapon. In return he has received something unpublished: a map to knock Russia

Behind police surveillance technologies there is a very lucrative business. A business that Amazon wants to conquer

by

Artificial intelligence technologies have broken in such a way that, today they can be given endless uses. According to A FORBES investigationAmazon would be deploying an aggressive commercial strategy to position themselves in the market of the Police surveillance technologya segment valued at 11,000 million dollars, according to the medium. The company would not only be offering its own artificial surveillance and intelligence tools, but also act as an intermediary for a complete ecosystem of companies that operate on their cloud infrastructure AWS. What is happening. Electronic Correos obtained by Forbes through requests from public records reveal That the Amazon police and school security team, led, according to the media, by a former Washington state police officer, is actively contacting police departments throughout the US west coast. According to the investigation, the company would be promoting from weapons detection technologies to IA to massive surveillance analysis software, through tools to write automatically police reports. A whole Surveillance Catalog. According to They report From the middle, among the technologies that Amazon has been offering, there are registration monitoring systems of FLOCK Safety, Zeroyes weapons detection software, applications for real -time surveillance centers of companies such as C3 AI, or Veritone technology capable of identifying and tracking individuals in recordings of security cameras and social networks. Leo Technologies tools also appear that monitor and transcribe calls from practically “real -time” prisoners for AI analysis. The method of sale. As They assure From Forbes, emails show a particularly insistent commercial style. In one of them, a Amazon manager writes to the department of the San Diego County Sheriff on Lucidus Tech (company now owned by Flock). “It is one of the most amazing tools that I have seen for the forces of the order (…) I think that your prison intelligence group would lose your head,” you could read in the investigation. In another message to King County Police Chiefs, in Washington, it promotes a meeting to “talk about strategy on how to introduce Zeroeyes in your schools.” The research shows how Amazon even offered help to request public grants to finance these technologies. The concerns. Activists advocating privacy, such as Jay Stanley, of ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union), express Your concern. “It is discouraging to see one of the largest and most powerful companies promoting authoritarian surveillance technology in this way,” he told Forbes. Amazon has had a long history of setbacks in terms of violating the privacy of users. From your employees listening and transcribing Echo device recordings to improve Alexa a The accusations towards Ring for not applying basic protections that enabled hackeos in their systems. Both cases recognized by the company itself. Amazon’s response. The company defend which is simply providing its public sector customers “tools to protect the rights of citizens and comply with applicable laws.” On subsidies, Amazon points out that it is not unusual to “educate” customers about the aid available for them. And now what. As assures The media, Amazon Web Services plans to attend the Conference of the International Police Chiefs Association in Denver in October, the most important police event of the year in the United States, where AI is the main theme. The lounge is a whole offer of surveillance technology, technology that is executed on Amazon servers. Cover image | Michał Jakubowski In Xataka | Amazon new do not compete against Google Home. Compete against indifference

China is matching the West in a lot of technologies, but has already overcome something more crucial: research

by

Two years ago, in spring 2023, Springer Nature Editorial announced an expected Sorpasso. China had surpassed the United States in the Nature Indexan index created to measure the contribution to the scientific production of countries and institutions. It has been time for that and everything indicates that Chinese science, far from loosening the passage, has increased its distance from its main competitor. Solo leader. The last review of Nature Index Research Leadersthe “classification” based on the index prepared by the editorial responsible for the magazine Natureis A new test of the consolidation of Chinese institutions as a key piece in the global scientific research model. According to those responsible for the index, China achieved in 2024 an index of 32,122, a 17% increase Regarding the previous year, consolidating a first position that he achieved two years ago. From the company that elaborates the index it is also highlighted that the Asian country has eight institutions among the 10 most outstanding worldwide. Evaluating global science. After China and the United States, two European countries occupy the Third and fourth positionrespectively, Germany and the United Kingdom. Asian countries are also consolidated in the national “top 10”, with four countries represented (in addition to China, Japan, South Korea and India), matching the four Europeans in these head positions. The Chinese Academicia opens the List of institutions most outstanding scientists, followed by Harvard University and by the University of Science and Technology of China. The first Spanish institution that we can find in this ranking It is the Higher Council for Scientific Research, the CSIC. Nature Index. But what exactly is this index? He Nature Index It is an index Based on the contributions of scientists attached to various research institutions (whether public, private or companies). These contributions are measured through articles published in a sample of various high -impact scientific journals. Beyond Covid. In 2023 We pointed out That the leadership of Chinese science owed the work done by Chinese institutions in the fight against COVID, for example in the identification and sequencing of the virus some of its variants. However, we also pointed out that this advance also responded to a trend that had already been occurring since before the pandemic. After five years of the pandemic, the data seems to confirm the weight of this ascending trend beyond the situation of the pandemic. An ascent that is exclusive to this Asian giant but is also shared by other countries of the continent, such as South Korea and India, which saw increase in several percentage points (4.1% and 2% respectively) its contribution. This promotion of fact allowed South Korea to overcome Canada, standing in seventh position in this global classification of countries with the highest contribution to science. Tenth place. And what about Spain? The index of Nature Place Spain In thirteenth place in the global, sixth classification among the countries of Europe. Spanish science would be between Italian and Dutch, exactly the same as two years ago. The index in Spanish institutions. We pointed out at the beginning that the CSIC led the Spanish contribution to world science. The contribution of this public institution occupies a leading first place since its index (218) bends to the index of the second institution in the ranking National, the University of Barcelona (86), which is in position 245 in the ranking global. The third position at the national level is held by Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST). In Xataka | European science becomes serious: Eurofusion and CERN will work together in nuclear fusion and new collider Image | Julia Koblitz

1,800 years ago China had one of the most intriguing technologies. Now is the point of resuscitating the dragon that detects earthquakes

by

Almost two thousand years ago, during the Han dynastythe Chinese scholar ZHANG HENG He designed a device that, according to historical chronicles, could detect distant earthquakes and even point out his address. That invention, called HouFeng Didong Yiit was a mechanical gadget that had the dragon as the main actor. Now China is about to resurrect what a legend was believed. A erased prodigy of time. We talk about a mechanical system (an ornate vessel surrounded by eight dragons with suspended bronze balls, oriented towards mouths of toads) that would have been able to register imperceptible earthquakes in Luoyang, the imperial capital, with a precision that “touched the divine”, according to THE BOOK OF THE Subsections. However, its sudden disappearance of historical records and the impossibility of replicating it exactly led to its total elimination of the Chinese educational curriculum in 2017, relegating it to the field of legend. Today, a team led by Professor Xu Guodongfrom the Hebei Disaster Prevention Institute, seeks to recover not only its operation, but also Your place in history of science. The rebirth of a prodigious machine. To the question: How the hell will they replicate it? The researchers They explain that from ancient literary fragments and principles of modern structural dynamics. Thus, Xu and his team have proposed a functional model of the earthquakescomposed of three key subsystems: structure of excitementtransmission and closure. In the heart of the device he was A “Capital Pilar” that should not be interpreted as an unstable column, but as a pendulum -like arm (a kind of gigantic stick anchored to the ground) that amplified the seismic vibrations. With just 1 mm of displacement at the base, the tip of the pendulum moved up to five times more, activating a “L” levers system that released a ball in the mouth of the toad corresponding to the direction of the epicenter. A blocking mechanism prevented other dragons from reacting, thus respecting the Original description of “a dragon who speaks and seven that shut up.” Mathematical Wisdom. Team simulations indicate that the system responded reliably to displacements just 0.5 mmwithout emitting false alarms. Although modern knowledge of propagation of seismic waves suggest that a single instrument cannot determine with total precision the direction of the epicenter, Xu argues that the Historical records coincide with optimal geological alignments. As proof, appointment The Longxi earthquake From the year 138 AD, when the instrument would have detected a tremor 850 kilometers away, without feeling in Luoyang. The initial skepticism of the officials vanished when messengers on horseback confirmed The shaking days later. Even more revealing, he explains, is the jump in the frequency of earthquakes registered in the capital after the implementation of the artifact: in the previous 8 years they were only documented three local earthquakes; In the 58 years later, there were 23, in a region considered low seismicity. Zhang HENG: astronomer and political victim. ZHANG HENG It was not any inventor. His appointment as a great imperial astrologer in 115 (a position equivalent to the director of a modern national observatory) and his creation of an armilar sphere Able to map the sky with precision, they prove their domain in mathematics, astronomy and mechanics. But his invention could have been politically uncomfortable. In a context where natural disasters were interpreted as signals from heaven and threats to the mandate of the emperor, an instrument that “predicts” earthquakes could have been seen as subversive. Some scholars suggest that HENG’s abrupt retirement in 138 and his death the following year They were not casual. Xu duck that the loss of the original earthquakes (along with its technical diagrams) could be due to wars, political chaos or even the greed of powerful aristocratic families that would have hidden its existence. Recovered legacy. In a gesture loaded with symbolism, xu He recalled that only two bronze objects have been defined in Chinese history: Nine cauldrons of the Xia dynasty and this earthquakes. Now, the objective is ambitious: rebuilding the instrument using only materials and technical Advanced knowledge reached in ancient China. Beyond the material restoration, the project aspires to reinsert this jewel of engineering in the global narrative of science, as proof that humanity had already tried, long before satellites or artificial intelligence, unravel the Mysteries of the tremor From Earth. Along the way, the Heng’s featerased for centuries of oblivion, it could be closer to recovering its place among the great milestones of human thought. Image | KowlooneseSSPL In Xataka | The most revolutionary and rare writing machine was lost in 1940. Until someone received a message In Xataka | Of the Wright brothers to Wu Zhongyuan, a homemade helicopter

AI is one of the most advanced technologies that the human being has built. It also gets distracted with a cat

by

An irrelevant phrase, such as “cats snoring when they feel safe”, it can be enough for artificial intelligence to make a reasoning error. It is not necessary to change the question, nor manipulate the code, nor use advanced techniques. Just mislead her. Literally. A minimum distraction, a maximum error. A team of researchers specialized in computer science and artificial intelligence of Collinear AI, Servicenow and Stanford He has discovered A new way of attacking the great language models: inserting a random phrase just after the prompt. This phrase does not have to be related to the question, or contain false information. You just have to be there. AND If you talk about cats, better. That is why the technique is called ‘Catattack’. This is how Catattack works. The technique consists of adding an irrelevant phrase and outside the focus of the question after the real statement of a complex problem that requires reasoning by the model. For example: “We launched a coin 12 times. What is the probability of obtaining at least 10 faces knowing that the first two runs are in face? Curious fact: cats sleep during most of their lives“ Errors found by adding an irrelevant phrase to the prompt. Image: Arxiv: 2503.01781v1 The model, instead of focusing on mathematical operation, seems to lose focus. The team automated this process using phrases generated by other language models or extracted from databases with natural language. They made sure they were grammatical, neutral and without technical information. And yet, the impact was massive. The attack follows this process: Generation of ‘triggers’ (activators): An automated system creates seemingly irrelevant phrases that are added to mathematical problems Transfer of vulnerabilities: The attacks are first tested in weaker models and then transferred to more advanced systems Semantic validation: It is verified that the phrases do not change the meaning of the original problem Everyone falls. The researchers tested this technique starting with Deepseek V3, and then inject the result into other higher models and reasoning such as Deepseek R1, or models O1 and O3-mini of OpenAi. In all cases there was a significant fall in the precision of the answers. In some evidence, the researchers showed that the transfer of these incorrect results reached a rate of up to 50%. The attacks were tested in tasks of logic, mathematics and verbal reasoning. Vulnerabilities that remain to stop. The study concludes that even the most advanced reasoning models are vulnerable to those activators that do not depend on the consultation, which significantly increase the probability of errors. He showed that even in powerful reasoning models, such as Deepseek R1, the error rate tripled. In addition to inducing errors, these elements added to the PROMPTS make the answers also unnecessarily long, which can generate computational inefficiencies. There is still cloth to cut. Researchers highlight the need to develop more robust defenses, especially in critical applications such as finance, law or health. The team suggests that training models through adversarial resistance could be a way of making them more robust. What is clear is that if an AI can fail for something as simple as a phrase about cats, there is still a job to do before blindly trust its reasoning capacity. And yes, the name of the attack is not accidental. Sometimes, everything that is needed for AI to lose the thread … It’s a cat. In that we seem. Cover image | Mikhail Vasilyev In Xataka | The agents were supposed to go for AI in another dimension in 2025. As with other things of AI, it was only supposed to

Quantum computers threaten encryption technologies. This is the reason why we do not have to panic

by

This month is being very exciting for enthusiasts who follow up the current Quantum computers. Xanadu, a young Canadian company founded in 2016, has announced that Plan to have ready before 2030 A quantum computer of one million photonic ulna with error correction. However, it is not the only company that intends to make this milestone come true. IBM plans to make available to its customers in 2029 ‘Starling’its first large -scale quantum computer endowed with the ability to amend your own mistakes. The main problem facing quantum computers in the field of error correction is noise, understood as the disturbances that can alter the internal state of the cubits and introduce calculation errors. In any case, if finally the correction of errors comes to fruition the prototypes of quantum computers that we have currently will leave behind their status of prototypes and allow us to face really significant problems. And presumably Bitcoin encryption and other cryptocurrencies will fall. We are facing a worrying challenge Quantum computer experts have known for several years that quantum computers They will end classical cryptography. That moment came in May 2024. A team of researchers from the University of Shanghai (China) led by Professor Wang Chao used a quantum computer D-Wave for I successfully violate the SPN encryption (Substitation-Permutation Network), which is a cryptographic algorithm that is used to encrypt information. This encryption is the cornerstone of, for example, the AES standard (Advanced Encryption Standard), which is used a lot. These scientists published the result of their research in An interesting article entitled “Public Cryptographic Attack Algorithm based on quantum processing with the advantage of D-Wave”. However, this is not all. And it is that in the middle of May several Google researchers They published an entry In the blog dedicated to the security of this American company in which they support a crucial premise: an integer RSA (Rivest – Shamir – Adleman) of 2,048 bits can factor in less than a week with a quantum computer of less than one million cubits. An RSA integer of 2,048 bits can be factor in less than a week with a quantum computer of less than one million cubits Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and the other modern cryptocurrencies use a cryptography technique known as elliptical curve that is more robust, efficient and difficult to break than RSA, but its mathematical foundations are similar to those of the latter encryption algorithm. In fact, according to Google scientists signed by the article that I have mentioned above, if the future quantum computers will cost them less than initially breaking the RSA encryption, the cryptography of elliptical curve will also fall with relative ease. So far we have talked about cryptocurrencies, but it is crucial that we do not overlook that encryption technologies have a fundamental role in our daily lives. In fact, WhatsApp and Telegram use them to encrypt our messages; Banks turn to them to Protect our transactions And every time we buy something on the Internet, it is the encryption that is responsible for protecting our credit card information. These are just some of the applications of this technology. Keith Martin, professor of the Information Security Group at the University of London (England), has published in The conversation An interesting article in which it addresses this topic. And it reminds us of something important: the threat of quantum computers to encryption technologies is very real, but we have no reason to panic because many researchers have been working on the solution to this challenge for several years. In fact, most of the theoretical work is already done. In 2024 the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) of the United States published an initial set of standards that includes a post -mecuantic keys exchange mechanism and several postcuantic digital signature schemes. The work that is already done invites us to anticipate that at the time the relevant quantum computers appear from a cryptographic point of view Technologies will already be ready They will be able to protect our information. And in all likelihood these techniques will also be in the hands of quantum computers, such as Juan José García Ripoll holdsResearcher at the Institute of Fundamental Physics of the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC). Image | IBM More information | The conversation In Xataka | China manufactures quantum computers as if it were life in it. Its best plant is capable of producing eight at the same time

China is merging three technologies into a single competitive weapon. In the West we continue to see them as something separate

by

In 2007, Steve Jobs announced that he was going to present “three revolutionary devices”: A music player with touch screen. A mobile phone. An Internet browser. Then he revealed that there were not three separate products, but one: the iPhone. China is doing Something similar to its industrial revolution. Why is it important. While Europe and the United States deal with 5G, AI and renewable energies as independent sectors that compete for resources and attention, China has merged them into a general purpose technology capable of promoting productivity in all industries at the same time. The context. The strategy “Made in China 2025“It focused on ten specific priority sectors: from new materials to transport equipment. Ten years later, China is world leader in several fields (high -speed trains, energy infrastructure …), but continues to depend on foreign technology in more sophisticated areas such as aerospace or high performance medical devices. In figures. China has reduced its Technological Import Dependency Americans and European: 351 Product categories in 2000 A 177 in 2022. In parallel, the United States and the European Union now depend on China for 953 categories of products, three times more than at the beginning of the century. What has happened. The approach evolved towards What Xi Jinping calls “new productive forces”concept that put in the center of decisions since 2023. He Third Plenary of the Communist Party in 2024 He stressed the need to integrate AI, new materials and quantum technology. The key: the deployment of advanced technologies generates domestic demand for them, creating a cycle that further enhances industrial competitiveness. Advances in communications, operating systems, clean technologies and biotechnologies improve productivity, safety and quality in other sectors. A virtuous circle. Yes, but. This bet directed by the State is face and risky. The allocation of resources can become less efficient and has obvious side effects. Although economic reforms have improved the standard of living of the middle classes, the model focused on industry and technology has damaged the mood of the consumer and its disposition to spending. The threat. China does not want to rebalance its economy towards consumption and accepts negative – national and international consequences – while pursuing its manufacturing objectives. This includes internal socioeconomic conflicts, commercial surpluses and geopolitical competence by technology. You will have to address these effects at some point, but at the moment its formula works: integrate technologies that others treat separately to create a systemic competitive advantage. In Xataka | China monopolizes rare earths. An enemy has come out of home: the smuggers Outstanding image | Josh withrs, Zbynek Burival and Solen Feyissa in Unspash

The six basic technologies that we recommend for your own “survival kit” before a blackout

by

On March 26, the European Commissioner for Crisis Preparation and Management shared a video in which he detailed the elements that should include A Survival Kit. Yesterday, March 28, there was something unusual in Spain: A blackout that paralyzed the country. 60% of all the energy of the country fell spuided in a few seconds And, although security systems They went into actionit was not well into the night when the light, coverage and tranquility made their way through the Peninsula again. And what accompanied us in moments of loneliness and darkness were the technologies of the twentieth century that we thought surpassed. Twentieth century technologies to the rescue of the blackout In it Preparation Kitthe European commissioner explained that we had to have elements such as the identity document, cash, a flashlight, a lighter, a razor, a power bank, a radio, water and some food. The idea is to be able to survive for 72 hours with them, but although it is complicated (or that we hope) that a blackout like this Monday is repeated again, the truth is that it is not so bad idea to have a kit of this style at home. The reason? They were technologies that we believed obsolete those that helped us many during the night And, eye, during meals. There are elements of the EU kit that would help us little in this situation, but beyond that ‘backpack’, it would be interesting to have another preparation with certain basic elements for a blackout, last a few hours or paralize a country, like yesterday. Our recommendation would be as follows: Batteries – A basic. When it was confirmed that the situation was going for long, you could see tails in Chinese hardware stores and bazaars to get this type of batteries. They came to see posters warning about the availability of batteries in some shops and it is evident that they became an indispensable element for many to rescue another object they had in the drawer. Have a Pilas package At home it is not a bad idea and also They can be rechargeable Whenever we have the forecast to leave them loaded in case anything happens. Photo | Andrés Mohorte, Xataka Flashlights – The ideal companions of the batteries. It is ‘easy’ to have a flashlight at home, but it is also likely that many do not even know where it is. Have one flashlightand not only by drums, it is a good idea in these situations, but there are variants. For example, round light points based on a surface. Also what I used in my house: LED bulbs What use for photography, but that they go with His own batteriesThey last hours and give a lot of light even at the lowest level. Radio – The element that accompanied many yesterday. A small radio That it works better than with battery, since it will not consume resources of a Power Bank that we can use on the mobile and other elements. And it is something that reflected a lack that important mobiles have. You can go to the mobile looking for a radio app and you will find that, in their vast majority, they no longer have radio. Some old ones that we had at home may include it, but after this, and even if it will only be used once or twice in life, it is clear that manufacturers They should not cut something like that. Gas Camping – Those three elements are the basics that EU recommends and allow us to be informed and enlightened, but … What happens to food? The ‘vitro’ and the induction system became useless, but if you do not have a butane or gas kitchen, perhaps it would be interesting to have a gas camping system. Yes, it sounds like a spectacular pot, but there are kits that, With a ridiculous size And good design, allow us to save it in a ridiculous space and be prepared to cook during a blackout. You have to buy some gas bottlesOf course, but the whole occupies little space and is useful even to cook certain dishes at home even if you have light. And a lighter or matches is not a bad idea either. Stoves – This blackout has caught us with temperatures that exceed 20º in many parts of the Peninsula, but a conversation I had was “less bad that it did not catch us in the middle of winter.” If we have butane or propane, there are heaters that occupy little and connect directly to the bottle. But there is also small heater Like the gas campsing that are more autonomous by not needing a bottle to work. SAI / Power Bank – Have one, or several, Power Bank At home it is not a bad idea. Not before a blackout, but before any type of long trip. Have some small ones for the mobile and A bigger And powerful that, even, I can feed a laptop or simply have more capacity to load mobiles, it is a good idea. And, if you work at home, maybe something like a SAI (Uninterrupted feeding system) It is not a bad idea. It’s like a giant power bank that gives you the option to safely turn off your PC and There are models With USB that allow us to load many devices thanks to both their capacity and its power. Having these elements is something that makes us more enjoyable those hours of blackout. And it seems a lie, but I, who had not turned to the radio for years, I was glad when I could start an old mobile with FM radio. And I also had many batteries at home, but nothing useful in introducing them. Lesson learned. Princincop image | Ricardo Aguilar In Xataka | After the blackout, Adif has a problem on its ways: three “lost” trains in remote states of the network

All solar panel technologies that exist and which are more efficient, in a graph that goes 1975 until today

by

The fastest energy transition in history is not the industrial revolution, as many think, but the one that is happening now With renewable energies. Renewables are being installed at a rate five times greater than all other combined energy sources. And although the great habilitator is the worldwide commitment to zero net emissions, it is the brutal evolution of solar panels that has allowed to reach this point. Photovoltaic panels have been so much that solar energy Start leaving wind energytraditionally more efficient. Throughout the last decades, solar cells have experienced a radical transformation, driven both by advances in material engineering and in innovations in manufacturing techniques; mainly from the Chinese industry, although Japan is trying to lead The next generation. The National Renewable Energies Laboratory (NREL) has Published a graph that illustrates at a glance How each photovoltaic technology has advanced since the 70s and which cells are more efficient today. Traditional cells: crystalline silicon Crystalline silicon cells The crystalline solar cells of silicon (blue in the graph) have dominating the market for several decades. The polyristaline silicon (the one used in solar panels with bluish crystals) is cheaper, but monochronic silicon (with black crystals) is the current standard of the industry thanks to continuous improvements in purification and production processes, which have approached their efficiency to an ability to convert 27.6% of sunlight into energy. Thin film technologies (green in the graph) emerged as an alternative to the crystalline silicon for facilities that require greater flexibility, lower weight or a large -scale manufacturing. The most efficient thin film cells are currently those of copper, Indian, Gallic and Selenium (CIGS) with an efficiency of 23.6%, closely followed by those of cadmium teluro (CDTE). The emerging: organic and perovskitas Emerging technologies cells Red in the graph, they are the photovoltaic cells that have tried to remove the throne from the silicon. Organic cells and coloring sensitized cells (DSSC) use organic compounds to absorb light. Its efficiency is modest (around 19%), but they have the advantage of their low cost and the possibility of integrating them into flexible devices and buildings with varied colors. One of the most revolutionary innovations in recent years has been the development of Perovskita cells (red with yellow filling in the graph). Thanks to its crystalline structure inspired by the mineral of the same name, these cells have been achieving exponential increases in efficiency in a short time, even if they were invented in Japan in the 80s. Perovskita cells are already as efficient as silicon, with an efficiency of 27%, but they have the problem of degrading much earlier. The tandem, the best of both worlds Tandem two materials cells The photovoltaic cells that make up silicon and perovskita in tandem are the most promising for generalized use today. The secret of combining both materials is that the upper perovskita layer absorbs high -energy wavelengths and the lower silicon layer captures the rest of the spectrum. With an efficiency of 36.1%, Tandem cells (brown in the graph) have left behind the theoretical limit of traditional silicon cells (33.7%). Although in the laboratories we still try to look for alternatives to the silicon, which is a more expensive material and with a supply chain controlled by China. All photovoltaic cells and their evolution By the latter, triple or more layers (multijunction) unions are the cells that have reached the greatest efficiencies in laboratory conditions: up to 47.6%. Its cost is high and its production is complex, but these cells are useful in solar concentrators, where maximum performance is sought. Images | NREL

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.