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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. -
Author Archives: skullsinthestars
Richard Marsh’s A Second Coming
I’ve discussed the works of Richard Marsh (1857-1915) quite often on this blog; he was a British-born author of horror and thrillers, and was stunningly successful at it in his time. His most famous novel was his breakout supernatural story … Continue reading
Posted in Religion, Weird fiction
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ResearchBlogging editor’s selections: lost language, redefining Great Britain, solar powered hornets, and meeting the Milky Way!
“Dr. SkySkull” selects several notable posts each week from a miscellany of ResearchBlogging.org categories. He blogs at Skulls in the Stars. At a Loss for Words: Modern Lessons From a Lost Language. This year, a 17th century letter in Peru … Continue reading
Posted in General science, Science news
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What scientists in 1903 wanted for Christmas!
For most scientists, the arrival of new equipment can feel a lot like getting toys on Christmas day. There’s the excitement of opening the package, the giddy thrill of discovery of what the equipment can do, followed by an almost … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Physics
6 Comments
The Nature of Human Nature, by Carin Bondar
In recent months, I’ve been trying to make a more concerted effort to read and review the flurry of science books being published by the excellent bloggers and twitterers out there. A couple of months ago, I picked up Written in … Continue reading
Posted in Animals, General science
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Weird science facts, December 1-December 7
Here are the Twitter #weirdscifacts for December 1st through December 7th! 263. Dec 01: While developing the bubble chamber c. 1950, physicist Donald Glaser tested early prototypes filled with beer. Bubble chambers are used in high-energy physics to detect and … Continue reading
Posted in Weirdscifacts
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Editor’s selections: flying snakes, wormholes, metallic glasses and hungry crabs
“Dr. SkySkull” selects several notable posts each week from a miscellany of ResearchBlogging.org categories. He blogs at Skulls in the Stars. Running a little late this evening — end of semester grading is overwhelming my days! Here are my Monday’s … Continue reading
Posted in General science, Science news
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Re (not the sun god) hypothesizes a solar atom (1903)
It is fair to say that the decade surrounding the start of the 20th century was an amazingly perplexing time to be a physicist. Mounting experimental evidence strongly suggested that something was amiss with classical physics, especially in the understanding … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Physics
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Weird science facts, November 24-November 30
Here are the Twitter #weirdscifacts for November 24 through November 30th! 256. Nov 24: Stubbins Ffirth (1784-1820) sought to prove yellow fever not contagious by drinking undiluted vomit from sufferers. Can I get an “eeeeew”? He actually began his experiments … Continue reading
Posted in Weirdscifacts
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ResearchBlogging editor’s selections: wishing on a dinosaur, the 4th down odds, the town that went mad, dead star navigation and deep-water sand dunes
“Dr. SkySkull” selects several notable posts each week from a miscellany of ResearchBlogging.org categories. He blogs at Skulls in the Stars. Here in the U.S., we’re just coming off our Thanksgiving weekend; to celebrate, we’ve got a couple of Thanksgiving-themed … Continue reading
Posted in General science, Science news
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On scientists, cheerleaders, and rockstars
There’s been a lot of talk on scienceblogs over the past few weeks about the usefulness of a pair of science outreach programs: namely, “science cheerleaders” and “rockstars of science”. The original “science cheerleader is Darlene Cavalier, who was inspired … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, General science
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Skulls in the Stars 