-
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. -
Yearly Archives: 2011
A curious 1880s account of ball lightning
The older scientific journals (pre-1900) are filled with many curious and strange eyewitness accounts. By the late 1800s, science had reached a level at which researchers felt confident enough to investigate a wide variety of unusual phenomena, but did not … Continue reading
Posted in History of science
4 Comments
The Giant’s Shoulders #41 is out!
The 41st edition of The Giant’s Shoulders history of science blog carnival has been posted over at Early Modern Experimental Philosophy! It includes discussions of vampires, ghosts, and armies of ape-warriors (yes, this is still a history of science blog carnival!), … Continue reading
Posted in General science, Science news
Leave a comment
Weird science facts, November 9 — November 15
Another week’s Twitter #weirdscifacts are ready!!! I’ve included a “bonus” fact this week, since it was too weird to not tweet right away… 606. Nov 09: A foot-long cockroach-like creature with 50 legs ruled the sea floor 500 million years … Continue reading
Posted in Weirdscifacts
1 Comment
Weird Fiction Monday: The Voice of the City
It’s time for Weird Fiction Monday, when I post stories that I’ve written — both new and old — for the entertainment (hopefully) of my readers! As always, I note that I haven’t done extensive editing of the tales here, … Continue reading
Posted in Fiction
2 Comments
Getting more with less in imaging: compressive sensing
Update: I felt my original explanations were a little lacking in places, so I’ve added to the post… In recent years, the public has seen remarkable advances in digital imaging technology. In the past few months, for instance, Lytro has … Continue reading
Posted in Mathematics, Optics
27 Comments
In which I engage in mathematical silliness…
There’s been a silly trigonometric pun going around on Google+ the past week involving Bill Cosby. Having seen it enough times, I’ve decided to fight back with my own: I would like to apologize in advance; you may now return … Continue reading
Posted in Mathematics, Silliness
6 Comments
Weird science facts, November 2 — November 8
Here we are again, with more Twitter #weirdscifacts! 599. Nov 02: Digits of Pi have inspired a musical sequence and a whole symphony! This comes via a tweet by @para_sight; also, @physicsman points out, “Given that Pi is non-repeating the binary … Continue reading
Posted in Weirdscifacts
2 Comments
Weird Fiction Monday: The Toybox
It’s time for Weird Fiction Monday, when I post stories that I’ve written — both new and old — for the entertainment (hopefully) of my readers! As always, I note that I haven’t done extensive editing of the tales here, … Continue reading
Posted in Fiction
2 Comments
Help out a science/history blogger!
Those of you who have been around the science and history blogosphere long enough have probably become familiar with the excellent work of John McKay, who writes both at his personal blog archy and at Mammoth Tales. The economy has … Continue reading
Posted in Personal
4 Comments
Weird science facts, October 26 — November 1
This is a special edition of Twitter #weirdscifacts: it is also my 1000th blog post at Skulls in the Stars! (image source) Not sure exactly what I should do to celebrate: post your suggestions in the comments! In the meantime, … Continue reading
Posted in Weirdscifacts
3 Comments
Skulls in the Stars 