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The author of Skulls in the Stars is a professor of physics, specializing in optical science, at UNC Charlotte. The blog covers topics in physics and optics, the history of science, classic pulp fantasy and horror fiction, and the surprising intersections between these areas. -
Monthly Archives: August 2009
Catching “The Wave”: still relevant
Watching crowds of lunatic extremists attempting to shut down any reasonable debate about healthcare by shouting down politicians at town halls and even bringing firearms to protests is reminiscent of the scare tactics that brownshirts used to secure power in … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, Entertainment, Politics
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Invisibility physics: “Reflectionless” objects make an appearance
(This is a continuation of my “history of invisibility physics” series of posts. The earlier posts are: Part I, Part II, Part III.) Up through the late 1940s, it seems that the only type of invisibility that authors were considering … Continue reading
Posted in Invisibility
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ResearchBlogging Editor’s selections: False primates, hot jupiters, comet controversies and clever corvids
(Cross-posted at ResearchBlogging.org News.) Suminia getmanov: A false primate: Over the past few months, you have probably heard a lot about “Ida”, a magnificently-preserved fossil of a 47-million year old primate. You may not have heard about the fossils of … Continue reading
Posted in General science, Science news
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8 days until The Giant’s Shoulders #14!
Here it is: your monthly reminder that deadline for The Giant’s Shoulders is coming up, to be held at The Dispersal of Darwin! There are 8 days left to submit before this month’s deadline. Entries can be submitted through blogcarnival.com … Continue reading
Posted in General science, Science news
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Animals keep getting smarter…
I’m totally fascinated by stories and research on animal intelligence. The closer researchers look at animal behavior, the more they’re surprised by unexpected cognitive abilities. A wonderful case in point: researchers have recently shown that rooks (a relative of crows) … Continue reading
Posted in Animals
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Marie Corelli’s Ziska
(I’ve had a backlog of fiction I’ve wanted to blog about, and a lack of energy for physics blogging thanks to heavy work on my book. I’ll get back to science-y posts in a few days.) 1897 was a very … Continue reading
Meet your new ‘content editor-at-large’ for ResearchBlogging.org!
If you ever browse through ResearchBlogging.org for posts about the latest state-of-the-art scientific research, you might be interested to know that there are now a collection of “content editors” who will be summarizing the most noteworthy posts in their field … Continue reading
Posted in General science, Personal
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The Time Axis by Henry Kuttner
The more I read of Henry Kuttner, the more ashamed I am that I didn’t read all of his works long ago! Henry Kuttner (1915-1958) was a versatile writer of pretty much every genre of weird fiction imaginable: science fiction, … Continue reading
Posted in Adventure fiction, Mathematics, Weird fiction
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Biltmore Estate… and Rick Springfield!
This weekend, the wife and I took a trip up to Asheville, NC, to see the historic Biltmore Estate… and see a Rick Springfield concert! The trip was an absolute blast, and I thought I’d share some pictures of the … Continue reading
Posted in Entertainment, Travel
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Skulls in the Stars 