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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: March 2026
Choose Your Own Adventure Cryptid Chronicles: Mothman, by Cristin Bishara
Book 8 for my 2026 goal of 36 books for the year! Still running a little behind but not catastrophically. As usual, my link to the book is through my bookshop.org affiliate account, which means I may earn a small commission if … Continue reading
Mexican Gothic, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Book 7 for my 2026 goal of 36 books for the year! Running a little behind but should be able to make it up pretty easily. As usual, my link to the book is through my bookshop.org affiliate account, which means I … Continue reading
Coulomb’s remarkable experiment in electricity (1785)
Though people have studied and been fascinated by electricity and magnetism, including such luminaries as Benjamin Franklin, we can really trace the beginning of modern electromagnetic theory to one specific experiment in 1785, in which the French physicist Charles-Augustin de … Continue reading
Talking falling feline physics in the NYT!
It so happens that the falling felines research that came out recently, and that I blogged about last week, has been getting a lot of news attention! A journalist at the New York Times contacted me for comments about the … Continue reading
Posted in Animals, Personal, Physics
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Incarnate, by Ramsey Campbell
Book 6 for my 2026 goal of 36 books for the year! Running a little behind but should be able to make it up pretty easily. As usual, my link to the book is through my bookshop.org affiliate account, which means … Continue reading
New falling cat paper just dropped!
So I’m now known as the falling cat physics guy, thanks to writing a popular science book on the history of scientists studying how cats land on their feet (“cat turning”) that you may or may not have heard of! … Continue reading
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