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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
Edgar Rice Burroughs’ At the Earth’s Core and Pellucidar
Regardless of what you think of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ writing, he himself was no slacker! Burroughs wrote well over fifty novels in his lifetime, including 26 featuring Tarzan, and used incredibly imaginative, now iconic, settings as backdrops. I’ve briefly discussed … Continue reading
Posted in Fantasy fiction
5 Comments
Unconventional skydives: balloon jump!
A couple of weeks ago I attended Skyfest 2008, a large skydiving convention (‘boogie’) which had attendees from all over the country. They also had a number of unconventional aircraft, namely helicopters and hot air balloons. I decided to make … Continue reading
Posted in Physics, Sports
4 Comments
A short housekeeping note (literally)
I’ve got lots of nifty science stuff to blog about, but this week the fiancée and I will be closing on our new house and moving in, so I’ll probably be posting short and light. I’ll hopefully be back next … Continue reading
Posted in Personal
3 Comments
Happy Birthday to Bruce Campbell!!!
It would be terribly uncool of me to not acknowledge the birthday today of one of the coolest actors who has ever lived: Bruce Campbell! If you don’t know Bruce Campbell, you really should: he is probably most remembered for … Continue reading
Posted in Entertainment
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House of Representatives flushes the 4th Amendment down the toilet
“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly … Continue reading
Posted in Politics
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Where the Hell is Matt? 2008
For those who’ve enjoyed Matt Harding’s delightful videos of himself dancing throughout the world, he has a new one, with “a cast of thousands.” This is the sort of video that, perhaps irrationally, gives me hope for humanity, and actually … Continue reading
Posted in Travel
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Dennis Wheatley’s The Haunting of Toby Jugg
Toby Jugg has a major problem. Every evening, during the nights of the full moon, a thing of unspeakable evil and unnatural provenance lurks outside of his window, seeking to claim him. He cannot flee, because he was wounded in … Continue reading
Posted in Horror
12 Comments
Invisibility Physics: Schott’s radiationless orbits
Conventional wisdom, even to this day, dictates that accelerating charges necessarily give off electromagnetic radiation. This is seen, for instance, in large-scale particle accelerators (synchrotrons), such as the Tevatron at Fermilab and the soon-to-be-operational LHC at CERN: the charged particles … Continue reading
Posted in Invisibility, Optics, Physics
4 Comments
The Linkin’ Log: June 18, 2008
Time again for me to highlight a few interesting posts from around the sciobloggosphere: Blake at Science After Sunclipse has a nice, lengthy essay about the necessity of mathematics in science education. Tom at Swans on Tea has finished (I … Continue reading
Posted in General science
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Richard Marsh’s Curios
Okay, I’ve got to describe one more book by Richard Marsh, then I’ll move on to other authors for a while! The book of interest is Marsh’s Curios (1898), subtitled “Some Strange Adventures of Two Bachelors.” It is available, as … Continue reading
Posted in Horror
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Skulls in the Stars 