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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
Robert E. Howard’s Almuric
Hot on the heels of a discussion of various ‘planetary romances’ set on Mars, I turned to Robert E. Howard’s own take on said romances: the tale of the savage world of Almuric: I have to admit, Howard fan that … Continue reading
Posted in Fantasy fiction, Robert E. Howard
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Keep ’em coming!
I’m currently sitting in a condo on the beach, after a ten-hour drive from home. I managed to find some internet to steal, so here I am! I just thought I’d write a quick note and mention that I’ve updated … Continue reading
Posted in General science
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My accent? I don’t have an accent!
A few weeks ago I stumbled across this fascinating quiz on GoToQuiz. Many of the quizzes one takes online are just silly, content-free distractions (with the exception of the Dungeons & Dragons character quiz I’ve talked about earlier), but this … Continue reading
Posted in Silliness
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Vacation time!
Those who read me regularly may have noticed that I’ve dropped off in my postings lately. I’ve been preparing for a trip to Florida to skydive off the Gulf and land on the beach, and much of my time has … Continue reading
Posted in Travel
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Fusion man goes flying, or: How about them jetpacks, eh?
It would be quite remiss of me not to comment on the cool video of Swiss pilot Yves Rossy, aka “Fusion Man”, and his remarkable jet-powered wing. There’s a YouTube video associated with the news story which, although it’s in … Continue reading
Posted in Sports
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China earthquake and a word about seiches
The tally of death and devastation in China in the aftermath of the earthquake continues to grow; now the official death toll is 22,000, with 14,000 still buried under rubble. In addition, repeated aftershocks are hitting the region. Numerous eyewitness … Continue reading
Posted in General science, Physics, Science news
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Richard Marsh’s The Joss: A Reversion
Richard Marsh was a prolific writer of horror, suspense and mystery stories in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. I’ve previously blogged about his most famous work, The Beetle: A Mystery, an 1897 horror tale that was so popular … Continue reading
Posted in Horror
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How my mind works
So I just got a new laptop from the university last week, and have started the process of moving all my files and software onto it. My old laptop, which still works just fine, I left at my girlfriend’s place … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?
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Get your ass to Mars!
(Title courtesy of the movie Total Recall.) The planet Mars has always been a source of fascination (as is its sister planet Venus, but that’s another post). As we have seen (here and here), in reality Mars can be quite … Continue reading
Posted in Fantasy fiction
3 Comments
Measuring neural activity using surface plasmons
In the May 1st issue of Optics Letters, a Korean research group has demonstrated another interesting application of surface plasmon resonances: the optical measurement of neural activity. Though I’m not sure how useful this technique will be in the long … Continue reading
Posted in Optics, Physics
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Skulls in the Stars 