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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
The Giant’s Shoulders #2 is up!
The second edition of The Giant’s Shoulders is up at The Lay Scientist! I’m delighted (and, quite frankly, a little relieved) to see that there are an excellent number of entries, and they’re… well, excellent! Thanks to Martin for putting … Continue reading
Posted in Science news
4 Comments
The cloaking craze: A look at the original papers
As I noted a couple of days ago, apparently there has been another significant experimental breakthrough in the development of dielectric cloaking devices. Researchers at UC Berkeley were responsible, though it is a little unclear what exactly the breakthrough is. … Continue reading
Posted in Invisibility, Optics, Physics
15 Comments
Some long overdue cat photos…
I haven’t done any catblogging for a while, which is a shame ’cause I’ve got lots of cute cat photos. Moving into a new house provides lots of opportunities for unexpected cat cuteness. Also, we received a very nice gift … Continue reading
3 days until The Giant’s Shoulders #2!
One last reminder: there’s only 3 days left to submit to The Giant’s Shoulders #2, to be held at The Lay Scientist, so if you’ve been meaning to write a classic science post and submit it, now would be a … Continue reading
Posted in General science, Science news
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Dennis Wheatley’s They Found Atlantis
I’ve discussed a few of Dennis Wheatley‘s books in past posts. Wheatley was a prolific author from the 1930s through the 1980s (though his most famous works were written from the ’30s to the ’50s), and he could rightly be … Continue reading
Posted in Fantasy fiction, Horror
7 Comments
Another ‘invisibility cloak’ teaser!
Via several sources (Times Online, via HuffPost and AP, via Pharyngula), I see that there’s another pending high-profile release concerning ‘invisibility cloaks’. Though the physics behind them is accurate, the media is of course pushing rather hyperbolic headlines again: “Science … Continue reading
Posted in Invisibility, Science news
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The Leavenworth Underground City Mystery (Updated)
(Update: For those who are interested, there’s an article in pdf form describing the underground in more detail at LV Mag, the magazine of Life in Leavenworth County.) I’ve been busy with departmental stuff the past few days, so posting … Continue reading
Posted in Silliness
63 Comments
The discovery, rediscovery, and re-rediscovery of computed tomography
Note: This post is my contribution to The Giant’s Shoulders #2, to be held at The Lay Scientist. I thought I’d cover something a little more recent than my previous entries to the classic paper carnival; in truth, I need … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Physics
13 Comments
The Montauk monster: a dead raccoon, after all…
Over the past week we’ve been treated to a barrage of news stories about a mysterious carcass which washed up on the beach of Montauk, Long Island, on July 13th. Dubbed “The Montauk monster”, it even rated a video bit … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, Animals
10 Comments
Heart-Shaped Box, by Joe Hill
As I’ve noticed previously, I took a multi-year hiatus from reading horror novels, in large part because I couldn’t separate out the gems from the trash in the new horror releases. Since I decided to blog about horror fiction, among … Continue reading
Posted in Horror
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Skulls in the Stars 