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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: December 2007
Roald Dahl: Master of macabre misdirection… and children’s stories!
Our next horror master is Roald Dahl (1916-1990), Welsh author and screenwriter. Most people probably know Dahl as the author of such famous children’s books as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, and Matilda. A lot … Continue reading
A new Cloverfield video…
A new clip for the movie Cloverfield has come out, revealing a bit more of the party scene leading up to the beginning of the end of New York City. Cloverfield, for those who haven’t heard yet, is a movie … Continue reading
Relativity Denialists: Like the Heads of the Hydra…
Now I know how Hercules must have felt. Like the mythical hydra, you slap down one relativity denialist, and two more pop up in his place. In my case, one appeared as a comment on my blog (filtered as spam … Continue reading
Glow in the dark cats!
And here I thought that this image was simply a nice photoshopped picture that somebody made for I Can Has Cheezburger! But, no, it turns out that scientists in South Korea have managed to make cloned cats that glow red … Continue reading
An old, sad story of torture
Through Hullabaloo, I was reminded of an amazing and incredibly tragic correspondence from Germany in the year 1628. Burgomaster Johannes Junius was tried and convicted of witchcraft, and eventually burned at the stake for these crimes. Before his execution, however, … Continue reading
Mythbusters missed a few!
I just finished watching the new episode of Mythbusters, in which they investigate a famous scene from the movie Point Break: Patrick Swayze leaps from a plane at 4000 feet, and Keanu Reeves hems and haws for fifteen seconds before … Continue reading
Optics basics: What is a wave? Part IV: Important quantities
To conclude my discussion of optics basics, I want to introduce some of the standard quantities used to describe waves and wave propagation. Unlike previous ‘basics’ posts, this one will necessarily deal with a little bit of algebra and perhaps … Continue reading
Night of the Meteorites!
For those interested in astronomy and cool space phenomena, there’s a treat coming up tomorrow night: one of the best meteor showers of the year will have its peak on December 13th (h/t Americablog). The Geminid meteor shower will be … Continue reading
Optics basics: What is a wave? Part III: Diffraction
In part II of my series on ‘What is a wave?’, I addressed one of the two most significant behaviors of waves, namely interference, the ability of a wave to ‘interact’ with itself. The second behavior of waves which is … Continue reading
Clive Barker’s Mister B. Gone
Clive Barker is back with a new novel! Mister B. Gone is now available in a lovely hardcover edition. The dust jacket labels it a ‘tour de force of the supernatural.’ That may be a bit of an exaggeration, but … Continue reading
Skulls in the Stars 