NFATW Ft. Will Smith, Disney+, Diamonds, Sunken Ships +More
9Scientists Turn Plastic Into Diamonds In Breakthrough
https://www.vice.com/en/article/3advqv/scientists-turn-plastic-into-diamonds-in-breakthrough
More than a billion miles away from Earth, on the ice giants of Neptune and Uranus, diamonds are forever. This isn’t cosmic poetry, but a reasonable scientific conclusion: We know that under extreme pressures and high temperatures miles beneath a planet’s surface, hydrocarbons are pummeled into a crystalline
In 2017, researchers in Germany and California found a way to replicate those planetary conditions, fabricating teeny tiny diamonds called nanodiamonds in the lab using polystyrene (aka Styrofoam).
This process rapidly heated the polystyrene to 5,000 Kelvin (around 8,540 degrees Fahrenheit) and compressed it by 150 gigapascals, similar to conditions found about 6,000 miles into the interior of the icy planets.
Kraus and his colleagues have got a bit more research to do on the nanodiamond front. They’re looking for ways to make large quantities of the tiny gems in minutes and with more accessible, yet still high-energy, laser systems.
2. An A.I.-Generated Picture Won an Art Prize. Artists Aren’t Happy.m
Jason Allen’s A.I.-generated work, “Théâtre D’opéra Spatial,” took first place in the digital category at the Colorado State Fair.
Mr. Allen’s work, “Théâtre D’opéra Spatial,” took home the blue ribbon in the fair’s contest for emerging digital artists — making it one of the first A.I.-generated pieces to win such a prize, and setting off a fierce backlash from artists who accused him of, essentially, cheating.
Reached by phone on Wednesday, Mr. Allen defended his work. He said that he had made clear that his work — which was submitted under the name “Jason M. Allen via Midjourney” — was created using A.I., and that he hadn’t deceived anyone about its origins.
A.I.-generated art has been around for years. But tools released this year — with names like DALL-E 2, Midjourney and Stable Diffusion — have made it possible for rank amateurs to create complex, abstract or photorealistic works simply by typing a few words into a text box.
We’re watching the death of artistry unfold right before our eyes,” one Twitter user wrote.
“This is so gross,” another wrote. “I can see how A.I. art can be beneficial, but claiming you’re an artist by generating one? Absolutely not.”
Some artists defended Mr. Allen, saying that using A.I. to create a piece was no different from using Photoshop or other digital image-manipulation tools, and that human creativity is still required
3. E-Bike Plague Hits State Parks
Has the E-bike takeover done more good or harm? Our inner naturalists love the electric power and loathe the sandy tire tracks— just like our wallets enjoy the gas change and hate the hospital bills—an unusual predicament.
https://www.change.org/p/no-electric-bikes-in-california-state-parks-or-california-parks?recruiter=956560714&recruited_by_id=fb108eb0-6d48-11e9-8c31-21eb8c6cefb8&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=petition_dashboard
4. Researchers ‘confident’ they have found James Cook’s ship after two centuries
The Australian National Maritime Museum (ANMM) is “confident” they have found the final resting place of the research vessel used by British explorer Captain James Cook
On Thursday, the chief executive of the ANMM Kevin Sumption said the final resting place of the ship had been identified after more than two centuries.
The ship, known as the Endeavour was famously used by Cook on his first voyage of discovery to the Pacific Ocean between 1768 and 1771,
The famous ship lay just 500 metres off the coast of Rhode Island where it was “buried in nearly 250 years’ worth of sediment and silt”, 14 metres below the surface.
Mr Sumption announced: “It is with great pride that after a 22-year program of archival and archaeological fieldwork that, based on a preponderance of evidence approach, I have concluded that an archaeological site known as RI 2394, located in Newport Harbor, Rhode Island, USA, comprises the shipwreck of HM Bark Endeavour”.
The Endeavour was deliberately sunk in 1778 in Newport Harbour by British forces
5. Will Smith puts his fears to the test in TV nature series
Will Smith rappelled into a live volcano and kayaked down an Icelandic whitewater river for
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