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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. -
Yearly Archives: 2011
Weird Fiction Monday: They Always Preregister, and They Never Miss a Class
This Halloween, I thought I would start a new semi-regular feature: Weird Fiction Monday! I’ve been a long-time author of weird fiction, and thought I would start posting some of my old and new writing as a motivation to write … Continue reading
Posted in Fiction
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Richard Marsh’s Between the Dark and the Daylight (1902)
If you’ve followed this blog for any period of time, you know I’m a big fan of the writings of Richard Marsh (1857-1915). I’ve reviewed a number of his works on this blog, and Valancourt Books has been doing a … Continue reading
Posted in Weird fiction
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Weird science facts, October 19 — October 25
It’s that time of week again for Twitter #weirdscifacts! 585. Oct 19: Thanks to Georg Cantor, we know that some infinities are bigger than others! The concept of “infinity” is a tricky business and very non-intuitive, in large part simply … Continue reading
Posted in Weirdscifacts
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Halloween treats 2011
It is time again for my yearly dose of creepy and classic horror stories for some chilling Halloween reading! You can also read my previous editions: 2007, 2008, 2009, and my 2010 post on the true story of the “Lady … Continue reading
Posted in Horror
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Weird science facts, October 12 — October 18
Time for Twitter #weirdscifacts! I found a few minutes at the Frontiers in Optics meeting to get the post up. 578. Oct 12: Via @DiscoverMag, Fish have been jumping on land for 150 million yrs & hiding it from the … Continue reading
Posted in Weirdscifacts
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The Giant’s Shoulders #40 is out!
I’m a day late to the announcement, but I should mention that the 40th edition of The Giant’s Shoulders, history of science blog carnival, is posted at Stranger in an Even Stranger Land! As always, it is a fascinating collection … Continue reading
Posted in General science, Science news
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Review of “Mathematical Methods” at Science After Sunclipse!
Just a quick bit of news: Blake Stacey has reviewed my textbook, Mathematical Methods for Optical Physics and Engineering, over at his blog Science After Sunclipse! Although he rightly busts my chops over a number of typos in the text … Continue reading
Posted in Mathematics, Personal
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Weird science facts, October 5 — October 11
Right on schedule, here is the latest week’s crop of Twitter #weirdscifacts! 571. Oct 05: The most used & successful medicine of BAYERCorp. is not Aspirin – it’s Heroin. (h/t @rmathematicus) 572. Oct 06: The peacock spider — the male … Continue reading
Posted in Weirdscifacts
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Faster than a speeding photon? Precursors test whether light can be faster than light
Over the past two weeks, the biggest physics news has been the apparent observation of neutrinos (nearly undetectable subatomic particles) moving faster than the vacuum speed of light. At first glance, this would seem to violate Einstein’s special theory of … Continue reading
Posted in Optics, Physics, Relativity
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9 days until the deadline for The Giant’s Shoulders #40!
We had a bit of a delay in the posting of TGS #39, but don’t forget that this means that the deadline for the 40th edition of The Giant’s Shoulders, the history of science blog carnival, is coming up quickly! You … Continue reading
Posted in General science, Science news
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