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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
Weird science facts, August 29-September 11
Time for your weekly helping of #weirdscifacts, from August 29-September 11!
Posted in Weirdscifacts
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ResearchBlogging editor’s selections: Aboriginal astronomy, the CO2 climate knob, the pain files, and cannibal Tyrannosaur X2
“Dr. SkySkull” selects several notable posts each week from a miscellany of ResearchBlogging.org categories. He blogs at Skulls in the Stars. Sorry for a late batch of selections this week! There are more things in heaven and earth, cobber, than … Continue reading
Posted in General science, Science news
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Scicurious reports on an overdramatic rattlesnake bite! (1747)
While researching my Franklin posts, I happened upon a very entertaining paper from 1747, in which a man describes in excessively melodramatic detail the effects of a rattlesnake bite upon himself. In the spirit of interblog cooperation, I passed the … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, History of science
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Benjamin Franklin’s electrical feast! (1748)
While researching my recent post on Benjamin Franklin’s electrical kite I read through much of Franklin’s scientific correspondence, and found quite a few gems! Though there is much of substance yet to be discussed in Franklin’s scientific experiments, I can’t … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, History of science
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The Giant’s Shoulders #28 is out!
Jai Virdi has posted her special edition of The Giant’s Shoulders ‘Visuals & Representations’ at her blog From the Hands of Quacks. True to the theme, the carnival has a nice collection of pictures to delight and horrify! Thanks to Jai … Continue reading
Posted in General science, Science news
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Datlow and Mamatas’ “Haunted Legends”
I can always tell when Halloween is near — wandering through the bookstore, I inevitably find multiple new books of horror that I absolutely cannot resist. This time around, I found three must-have hardcovers, putting a significant dent in my … Continue reading
Posted in Horror
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Benjamin Franklin shocks the world! (1752)
Back in 1752, Benjamin Franklin performed an epic — and incredibly dangerous — experiment. In order to show that lightning is a form of electricity, he flew a kite in a thunderstorm with a key attached. The key drew off … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Physics
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Weird science facts, August 15-August 28
It’s that time of week again: the Twitter #weirdscifacts for August 15 to August 28 are below the fold!
Posted in Weirdscifacts
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ResearchBlogging editor’s selections: the Nobel for graphene, the IgNobel for Peter, and science vs. the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
“Dr. SkySkull” selects several notable posts each week from a miscellany of ResearchBlogging.org categories. He blogs at Skulls in the Stars. Great, the physics Nobel prize for graphene! Now don’t overhype it… First up, Joerg Haber at All That Matters … Continue reading
Posted in General science, Science news
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Twisting light into a Möbius strip
Some months ago, I wrote a post introducing the subfield of optics known as singular optics. Singular optics is concerned with the behavior of wavefields in the neighborhood of regions where the intensity of the wave is zero, and the … Continue reading
Posted in Optics
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