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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
Lord Kelvin vs. the Aether! (1901)
The more I study the history of aether physics, the more I feel that modern physicists underappreciate both the huge influence the theory had on the development of physics and how it indirectly spurred many positive scientific discoveries, even though … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Physics
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Kepler’s contributions to optics, at Renaissance Mathematicus
Those who follow this site for optics and history of science posts should take at look at this nice post by The Renaissance Mathematicus. It covers the contributions of Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) to the modern theory of optics. Kepler is … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Optics
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ResearchBlogging editor’s selections: technology vs. prejudice, the history of grain-eating, and curing PTSD via virtual reality
Can modern day gadgets help combat prejudice? We have come so far as a society in combating prejudice, but there is clearly much more to be done. William Lu at The Quantum Lobe Chronicles discusses attempts to use technology to … Continue reading
Posted in General science, Science news
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A new paper airplane world record!
Via The Huffington Post, I found this story pretty exciting: a Japanese man has made a new world record for the longest duration flight of a paper airplane! Only one man – Japanese paper airplane virtuoso Takuo Toda – has … Continue reading
Posted in Science news, Sports
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Merry Christmas
We arrived in Chicago on the 23rd, just ahead of a nice ice storm. Things were a bit of a mess afterwards, but very pretty: Merry Christmas to those celebrating, and happy holidays to everyone else! As my usual Yuletide … Continue reading
Posted in Personal, Silliness
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M.P. Shiel’s Prince Zaleski
Valancourt Books continues to release fascinating literary treasures that have been buried and forgotten for ages! The most recent of these is a collection of stories by M.P. Shiel about his character Prince Zaleski: We’ve encountered Matthew Phipps Shiel (1865-1947) … Continue reading
Posted in Mystery/thriller
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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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Skulls in the Stars 