-
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. -
Author Archives: skullsinthestars
Weird science facts, February 2 — February 8
Below are the Twitter #weirdscifacts for the previous week! 326. Feb 02: Daguerre’s photographic process was made “free to the world” in 1839 — w/ exception of Great Britain. Daguerre was competing with British scientist Talbot to perfect the photographic … Continue reading
Posted in Weirdscifacts
1 Comment
Madness on canvas: art in horror fiction
When you read enough horror fiction, certain themes recur consistently in the wonderful chaos of ideas. Among these, I was recently struck by how often the visual arts appear as the centerpiece of horror stories. This primarily involves paintings, but … Continue reading
Posted in Horror
13 Comments
Weird science facts, January 26 — February 1
Here are the (slightly belated) Twitter #weirdscifacts for the previous week! 319. Jan 26: The 1927 Mississippi River flood: at some points, the river was 70 *miles* wide. This is a frightening testament to the destructive power of floods. 319a. … Continue reading
Posted in Weirdscifacts
3 Comments
Taking flight on light
On occasion, a scientific idea comes along that is so simple and elegant that one wonders that it hadn’t been done before! Such is the case with the results of an article published online in Nature Photonics in December, which … Continue reading
Posted in Optics, Physics
10 Comments
Weird science facts, January 19 — January 25
I’m currently in the airport in San Francisco, waiting to get my flight back to Charlotte. I thought this would be a good time to post the past week’s Twitter #weirdscifacts! Hopefully life will settle down somewhat soon and I’ll … Continue reading
Posted in Weirdscifacts
2 Comments
“Blogging on the career path” at ScienceOnline 2011
At the recent ScienceOnline 2011 meeting (#scio11), one of the panels I participated in was a “Blogging on the career path” with Sheril Kirshenbaum of The Intersection, Janet Stemwedel of Adventures in Ethics and Science, and John Hawks of his eponymous … Continue reading
Posted in General science, Personal
10 Comments
Weird science facts, January 12 — January 18
Just got back from ScienceOnline 2011 this week, and I’m hoping to put up a few posts about it over the next couple of days — as well as a few science posts! In the meantime, here are the Twitter … Continue reading
Posted in Weirdscifacts
3 Comments
Use The Giant’s Shoulders #31 to start your day!
This edition of the history of science blog carnival carries a bit of a kick! The newly-revamped blog Morning Coffee Physics has posted the most excellent 31st edition of The Giant’s Shoulders. Many thanks to Jasper for putting together an … Continue reading
Posted in General science, Science news
2 Comments
Weird science facts, January 5 – January 11
Here are the Twitter weird science facts for the week! 298. Jan 05: China’s treacherous Yellow River: est. 1.5k floods (millions killed) & 26 course changes in 2.6k years. The Yellow River is especially dangerous because of the high proportion … Continue reading
Posted in Weirdscifacts
1 Comment
Post at Scientific American guest blog on invisibility!
For those wondering where my science-related posts have been these days, I have at least a partial answer: I have a guest post on the Scientific American guest blog on, “Invisibility: After several years of research, it’s just gotten weirder”! … Continue reading
Posted in Invisibility, Optics
Leave a comment
Skulls in the Stars 