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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
Another kitty anchors herself in our home!
Book writing is coming along, and I actually can see light at the end of the tunnel. The biggest section left to write is on tensor analysis, and the biggest difficulty is determining how much to include in my book … Continue reading
Posted in Animals, Personal
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ResearchBlogging editor’s selections: the most distant object seen, a landslide dam, and anonymity on the internet
Beyond the farthest star. Brian at Upon Reflection talks about the most distant and hence oldest cosmic burst of energy ever recorded — surprisingly close to the beginning of the universe. Balancing anonymity, privacy, and security. Having my pseudonym is … Continue reading
Posted in General science, Science news
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The Giant’s Shoulders #18 is up!
The eighteenth edition of The Giant’s Shoulders is up at Jost a mon! Many thanks to Fëanor for putting together a really lovely edition! The deadline for the next edition is January 15th, and it will be held at The … Continue reading
Posted in General science, Science news
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Atlantis discovered… again…sigh.
Via the Huffington Post, which is sort of a magnet for really outlandish and unsubstantiated claims, we find this rather dubious announcement that the lost city of Atlantis has been found: Undersea archaeologists have found the ruins of an ancient … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?
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The Beast with Five Fingers by W.F. Harvey
I’ve been trying to keep up with my weird fiction reading while I’ve been working on my physics textbook, though it’s been pretty hard to read a major work considering I spend most of my evenings doing research for the … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Mystery/thriller
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ResearchBlogging editor’s selections: cold atoms in disguise, jittery black holes, and another use for Kepler
Making cold atoms look like electrons. First up, Chad at Uncertain Principles describes how ultra-cold atoms and a lattice of optical traps can be used to make a virtual ‘solid’ in which the atoms play the role of electrons in … Continue reading
Posted in General science, Science news
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Happy birthday to Bill Nighy!
Even as busy as I am, I can’t resist taking a moment to wish happy birthday to one of the coolest actors out there, in my humble opinion: Bill Nighy! Nighy has been acting since the late 1970s, though he … Continue reading
Posted in Entertainment
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Happenings
There’s an old Calvin & Hobbes cartoon where Calvin is trying to get enough cereal boxtops to mail-order a prize, namely a propeller beanie. Being the impatient sort, he pretty much decides to eat enough cereal in one sitting to … Continue reading
Posted in Personal
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8 days until The Giant’s Shoulders #18!
There’s 8 days left until the deadline for The Giant’s Shoulders #18! It will be held at Just a mon, and entries can be submitted through blogcarnival.com or directly to the host blog, as usual!
Posted in General science, Science news
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ResearchBlogging editor’s selections: galaxy zoos, freaky statistics, and crayon wildlife conservation
Galaxy Zoo 2. One of the most fascinating and exciting consequences of the internet is the advent of large “citizen scientist” collaborations. Alexander at The Astronomist discusses Galaxy Zoo, one of the most successful of these, the now active Galaxy … Continue reading
Posted in General science, Science news
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Skulls in the Stars 