Kevin Costner's gravelly-voiced rancher John Dutton once mused, in Paramount's hit seriesYellowstone, that "you can't fix a broken wagon wheel, but you can use the parts to make a new one." No one would accuse the OG Paramount series from creator Taylor Sheridan of being "broken" -- well, scratch that, some of you might -- but the second half of that maxim pretty aptly describes what the network is doing right now vis a vis Sheridan's myriad shows he's launching for the Paramount Plus streamer.
Without getting too far down into the weeds, Paramount had crafted a streaming strategy for Yellowstone before it had a firm handle on its own streaming ambitions -- which is why the show, now one of the biggest on cable, doesn't live on its own network's streaming service. And it's also why Paramount has wisely tasked Sheridan, who's now a proven hitmaker with legions of fans, with building out as many shows as he cans ... for Paramount's streaming service, specifically.
The result: Multiple Yellowstone prequels and spinoffs, like 1883 and 1923, for a start. In fact, Sheridan's bulging Paramount Plus portfolio is also starting to beg a question among a certain contingent of Yellowstone fans ... is it time to call it a day on this one?
Scientists have discovered a new form of ice through ball milling, which involves shaking frozen water around in a jar of ultracold steel balls. This previously unknown form of amorphous ice is closer to liquid water than any other yet discovered, and it isn’t found naturally on Earth.
What makes this new form of ice so special is that its atoms are not arranged in a neat, crystalline pattern like normal ice. instead, they are disordered and jumbled up. Though amorphous ice is usually low or high density, this new type has a density of 1.06 grams per cubic centimeter.
That makes it incredibly close to the density of water at 1 gram per cubic centimeter. Researchers led by chemist Alexander Rosu-Finsen have named this new form of ice medium-density amorphous ice (or MDA for short).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wceahqjAa7w
With MDA accounted for, we now know of at least 20 different crystalline forms of ice, Christoph Salzmann of University College London explained in a statement. Of those twenty types, though, there are only two known forms of amorphous ice currently discovered.
Because of the density gap between normal amorphous ice and this newer type, scientists believe that water, in fact, exists at two very cold temperatures. And, theoretically, we can see both of these liquids exist simultaneously if adjusted to a certain temperature.
This isn’t the only anomaly that has baffled scientists, either. When Amorphous ice was first discovered it left scientists scratching their heads, and when this newest form of ice was presented after a session of ball milling — using balls to grind items down in random patterns — scientists were just as bewildered.
Amorphous ice is only believed to exist in space, and possibly in the highest reaches of the atmosphere. But here on Earth, where temperatures don’t commonly reach the levels needed to form it, this particularly interesting type of ice is a mystery.
If you primarily use Twitter on iPhone or Android, like most of the world, the company has rolled out an update that you're likely to be quite happy about.
In an update on the social media platform, the Twitter Support account announced an "update to the latest version of the app so that “For you” and “Following” will default to whichever tab you had open last.
Netflix subscribers have a new addiction -- specifically, a medical drama -- that they're increasingly obsessed with, over and above hit series from the streaming giant like Ginny & Georgia and Wednesday. In fact, this series that we're referring to, the medical drama New Amsterdam, isn't even a Netflix release at all -- and yet, it's rocketed all the way up to the top of the streaming chart in the US, where it's the #1 title for the moment.
Apple introduced Continuity Camera last year, a feature that lets you turn the iPhone's rear-facing camera into a sophisticated Mac webcam. You need to be running iOS 16 on your iPhone and macOS Ventura on your computer to upgrade your webcam experience for Zoom calls, FaceTime, and improvised hands-on videos. On Android, you'll have to wait for Android 14 to turn your phone into a webcam. But the feature is apparently in the works.
As impressive as it is that some customers are still using a Sprint SIM card in 2023, its days are numbered. According to a document shared by The T-Mo Report, T-Mobile started sending legal notices to impacted customers on February 1, informing them that Sprint SIMs will reach "End of Life" status on May 1. If they don't replace their SIM cards prior to that date, they could risk their service being interrupted, as the SIM cards will stop working.
Replace your Sprint SIM card by May 1
Shortly after T-Mobile acquired Sprint in 2020, the carrier discontinued the Sprint brand. Since that day, there haven't been any new Sprint customers, but some stubborn legacy users have hung on to their SIM cards after all these years. At long last, their collective journey ends.
These are the key dates for Sprint SIM card users to know, according to T-Mobile:
February 1 & March 1: Impacted customers will receive SMS/email notifications that includes a link to a support page with details and instructions on how to TNX or upgrade their incompatible device.
April 3: Customers will receive a 3rd legal notice reminder in the mail (SMS/email notification will be sent as backup).
May 1: Customers without a T-Mobile SIM will lose service.
If you are still using a Sprint SIM card on a device that is compatible with T-Mobile's network, the carrier will swap your SIM for free. If your device is incompatible, T-Mobile might offer you a free device that will operate on its network -- something like the REVVL V+ 5G.
You probably aren't still using a Sprint SIM card after all these years, but if you happen to know someone who is, do us a favor and let them know it's time to move on. Not only will they lose service, but they won't even be able to call 911 in some cases.
We're only a couple of weeks away from the release of the PlayStation VR2 and Sony is here to get ahead of all of the questions we have about the headset.
In a blog post, the company announced the "ultimate FAQ" for the PlayStation VR2, an expansive post that attempts to answer any question someone may think of when it comes to its upcoming VR headset. The company says that "if you have any question about PS VR2, you should expect to find it answered here in this ultimate guide. And if it doesn’t have what you’re looking for, leave us a note in the comments below. We’ll do our best to update this guide before, during, and after launch."
NASA scientists spotted a strange solar vortex near the Sun’s northern pole. The vortex appears to be part of a huge filament of solar plasma that broke away from the Sun’s surface and is now circling the north pole like a tornado. Unfortunately, scientists have no idea what caused the vortex.
Attention was first brought to the strange solar vortex when Dr. Tamitha Skov posted on Twitter, sharing images taken by NASA’s Solar Dynamic Observatory. While it is exciting, the cause of the vortex does have many scratching their heads in bewilderment.
The vortex itself appeared above the 55-degree latitude. But this isn’t the first time we’ve seen it. Scott McIntosh, a solar physicist and deputy director at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado, told Space.com that the solar vortex appears at that exact place every solar cycle.
However, this is the first time astronomers have seen a vortex of this caliber, which is why it has so many excited.
The sun follows an 11-year solar cycle, and according to McIntosh, this vortex has appeared at the 55-degree latitude mark once every single cycle we have observed. As such, many astronomers believe the solar vortex could have something to do with how the Sun reverses its magnetic field.
McIntosh said that many astronomers have questioned why the vortex appears at that spot, only to move toward the pole and vanish, then to reappear three to four years later in the same spot it did before. Could the solar vortex play some part in how the Sun’s cycle plays out?
Hopefully, upcoming missions like the European Space Agency’s Solar Orbiter can help shed some light on these phenomena, as well as the massive sunspots that astronomers have discovered across the surface of the Sun.
With more data, we could come to a proper understanding of how our star works and why it does the things it does. That, in turn, could help us better predict solar flares and other cosmic events that threaten our world.
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