Data centers: a view from the inside

A data center is basically a large concrete building filled with thousands of servers that power our digital world and the growing AI boom. These servers, arranged in metal racks, run nonstop and produce huge amounts of heat, requiring powerful cooling systems that use a lot of energy and water. Data centers work faster when they are close to users, which is why places like Ashburn, Virginia have so many, though many new ones are built in cheaper rural areas. They also need massive amounts of electricity and rely on backup batteries and generators to stay on 24/7. As AI grows, companies are racing to build more data centers, but powering and cooling them is becoming a major challenge.