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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
Halloween Treats 2024: Revenants!
Every year since I’ve started this blog, I’ve published a few classic open access stories of horror for the Halloween season! In recent years, I’ve started to make a theme for each year. This year, the theme is “revenants”: spirits … Continue reading
Posted in Horror
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A TikTok video on anholonomy, Foucault’s pendulum, and falling cats!
I’ve been spending more time making videos lately on TikTok, and I saw a video from a young woman inadvertently demonstrating the concept of anholonomy, which is related to everything from Foucault’s pendulum to light polarization to falling cats! I … Continue reading
Posted in Optics, Physics
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Invisibility shortlisted for Phi Beta Kappa Award in Science!
Hi all! I always like to post nice book news here, partly for my own recollection, but I learned today that my book on Invisibility: The History and Science of How Not to be Seen was shortlisted for the 2024 … Continue reading
Posted in Invisibility, Personal
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1928: E.H. Synge invents near-field microscopy
It is often the case in science that the human imagination can outpace our technical abilities, and the result is that many remarkable inventions are conceived and their basic principles laid out long before anyone has the capability to construct … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Optics
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The Abyss, by Jere Cunningham
Book 9 of my 26 books for 2024 goal! (If you notice that book 8 is missing on the list, that was a private review of an upcoming book for a publisher, which I’m counting, because I’m way behind!) A … Continue reading
Posted in Horror
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17 years of Skulls in the Stars!
Hi all! I’m still finishing the draft of my electromagnetic optics textbook, which I told the publisher I’d finish on Monday. So, as you might expect, that’s been consuming most of my attention lately and I haven’t had time to … Continue reading
Posted in Personal
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The discovery of ultraviolet light
As some of you may know, I’ve been working on a textbook on Electromagnetic Optics for a year now, and am near the end of the process. In finishing it, I wrote an introductory chapter that reviews the whole electromagnetic … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Optics
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Just a small note!
Hi folks, I just realized I haven’t posted for a while, but there’s a good reason — I’m in the final month of finishing up a new textbook, which is due on August 15, so all of my writing energy … Continue reading
Memories of Emil Wolf
2024 marks the 65th anniversary of a significant milestone in optics: the publication of Principles of Optics by Max Born and Emil Wolf, a comprehensive book on physical optics that has been cited some 78,000 times in the scientific literature … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Optics, Personal
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Skulls in the Stars 