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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
Marie Corelli’s Ziska
(I’ve had a backlog of fiction I’ve wanted to blog about, and a lack of energy for physics blogging thanks to heavy work on my book. I’ll get back to science-y posts in a few days.) 1897 was a very … Continue reading
Meet your new ‘content editor-at-large’ for ResearchBlogging.org!
If you ever browse through ResearchBlogging.org for posts about the latest state-of-the-art scientific research, you might be interested to know that there are now a collection of “content editors” who will be summarizing the most noteworthy posts in their field … Continue reading
Posted in General science, Personal
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The Time Axis by Henry Kuttner
The more I read of Henry Kuttner, the more ashamed I am that I didn’t read all of his works long ago! Henry Kuttner (1915-1958) was a versatile writer of pretty much every genre of weird fiction imaginable: science fiction, … Continue reading
Posted in Adventure fiction, Mathematics, Weird fiction
7 Comments
Biltmore Estate… and Rick Springfield!
This weekend, the wife and I took a trip up to Asheville, NC, to see the historic Biltmore Estate… and see a Rick Springfield concert! The trip was an absolute blast, and I thought I’d share some pictures of the … Continue reading
Posted in Entertainment, Travel
8 Comments
The Linkin’ Log: August 2, 2009
Over the weekend, the wife and I went to Asheville, NC, to visit the Biltmore Estate and see a concert, which I will post about tomorrow. In the meantime, I thought I’d share a few tidbits from around the internet … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, General science
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Scientific cranks: Going strong since at least 1891
It is easy to assume that scientific crankery is a relatively new phenomenon, perhaps fueled by the completely non-intuitive, sometimes intimidating nature of many modern scientific theories. In physics, for instance, most cranks spend their time attacking Einstein’s theories of … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, History of science, Physics
7 Comments
Another short note — and goldfinches!
Just a quick note again — I’m still quite swamped with work, even after getting my proposal done. Now I’m working feverishly on my book, as I want to have a first draft completed by the end of August. I’ve … Continue reading
Posted in Animals, Personal
3 Comments
Leonard Cline’s The Dark Chamber
Lovecraft’s essay Supernatural Horror in Literature is a great starting source for finding very good but relatively unknown horror gems. I’ve been slowly working my way through Lovecraft’s picks, and recently Leonard Cline’s The Dark Chamber (1927) caught my eye: … Continue reading
Posted in Horror
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Thomas Levenson’s Newton and the Counterfeiter
About a month ago, I noted that Thomas Levenson’s book Newton and the Counterfeiter (2009) is now available: The book is the story of how the great scientist Isaac Newton, after making the discoveries which electrified the scientific world, took … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Physics
8 Comments
Maxwell on Faraday
I’m working on a few longer posts at the moment, but in the meantime I thought I’d share a nice little passage I came across while looking through James Clerk Maxwell‘s A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism (1873). Maxwell, of … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Physics
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Skulls in the Stars 