¿Qué necesitas para minar bitcoins?

So, tell me, what exactly do you need in order to mine bitcoins? Is it a special kind of computer hardware? Do you need specific software? And what about energy consumption - is it a significant factor in the process? Also, how does the difficulty of mining change over time? I'm curious to know if there are any other important considerations or requirements that I should be aware of before embarking on this journey. Can you elaborate on these points for me, please?