-
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
Hollywood: Now officially out of ideas
Okay, now I think we can make this official: Hollywood is completely out of novel ideas. We started to suspect that this was the case when they started remaking very old classics such as King Kong, but at least there … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, Entertainment
17 Comments
Some musings on negative refraction
For a part of this past week I was at a workshop in California, and a lot of excellent theoretical and experimental researchers of metamaterials were present. One of the points stressed by many of them is the difference between … Continue reading
Posted in Optics
8 Comments
12 days until The Giant’s Shoulders #13!
This July 4th, if you’re celebrating the history of the United States, why not celebrate some history of science as well? There’s 12 days left until the deadline for The Giant’s Shoulders #13, which is the first anniversary edition of … Continue reading
Posted in General science, Science news
2 Comments
“Depression” isn’t just feeling bad
There’s been a healthy amount of discussion on the science blogs over the past few days about clinical depression, spurred on in large part by questions from aspiring academics concerning the best way to address the impact of their illness … Continue reading
Posted in Health
6 Comments
My interview on “A Blog Around the Clock”
As part of the run-up to ScienceOnline’10, Coturnix of A Blog Around the Clock has been running written interviews with the participants of the ’09 conference… including me! You can read my interview here.
Posted in General science, Personal
Leave a comment
Happy birthday to Ray Harryhausen!
It’s a good time of year for birthdays: today is Ray Harryhausen’s birthday! If you don’t know who Ray Harryhausen is, you should be ashamed of yourself — he’s the undisputed master of special effects. Harryhausen pioneered the use of … Continue reading
Posted in Entertainment
2 Comments
Abramowitz and Stegun online!
Abramowitz and Stegun is a classic reference book which contains all sorts of information about special functions and their integrals. If you’ve ever needed to reference something on the road and don’t have your copy with you, you will be … Continue reading
Posted in Mathematics
7 Comments
Francis Stevens’ The Nightmare and Other Tales of Dark Fantasy
In my readings for this blog, I am constantly surprised by how many truly excellent authors and works of weird fiction have been (mostly) lost in the passage of time. Fortunately, a number of publishers have valiantly taken up the … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Weird fiction
5 Comments
Happy birthday to Bruce Davison!
I’m out of town for a few days, and likely posting light, but I had to put in a short “happy birthday” to actor Bruce Davison! Davison, who has a distinguished air about him that screams, “upper echelon”, is often … Continue reading
Posted in Entertainment
Leave a comment
Oh, the things I hear
Overheard at the airport this morning, part of a conversation between two older ladies: “She’s really pretty. She has beautiful teeth.”
Posted in ... the Hell?
4 Comments
Skulls in the Stars 