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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
Sinister Barrier, by Eric Frank Russell
Writing a book about the history and science of invisibility has led me to read things that I would otherwise never have encountered, including a whole slew of science fiction tales about invisibility and invisible creatures. I thought I would … Continue reading
Posted in Invisibility, Science fiction
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H.G. Wells insults the entire human race (1924)
Most everyone knows the name H.G. Wells: he is one of the founders of science fiction as a popular and accepted form of literature, thanks to his brilliant novels The Time Machine (1895), The War of the Worlds (1898), and … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Science fiction
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The Valancourt Book of World Horror Stories, Volume 1
Having a quiet night at home and realized this would be a good time to catch up on some book blogging! I finally started getting back into reading, after a long pandemic-depression hiatus, at the start of the new year, … Continue reading
Me on This Week in Science!
I’m having a lot of fun doing video chats on science shows lately! A few days ago, I happened to see that This Week in Science talked about some optics that I am familiar with, and I jokingly complained to … Continue reading
Posted in General science, Optics
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Personally Speaking… about Falling Felines!
Hi all, I’ve been rather busy with work lately and haven’t had much time to blog. I’ve got a lot to write about, and no time to do it! In the meantime, however, I gave a talk at my university … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Personal, Physics
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Row, row row your boat, James Clerk Maxwell (1841)
Another short post inspired by my work on my upcoming book on the history of invisibility physics! James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879) is rightly regarded as one of the most important physicists of the 19th century, and indeed of all time, … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Optics
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Thomas Young sees the light (1800)
A post inspired by work I’m doing on my next book, on the history of invisibility! Also will help me get my thoughts in order to write the book chapter. At the turn of the nineteenth century, humanity’s understanding of … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
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Some photos of the conjunction!
You may have heard that yesterday there was a rare planetary conjunction, in which Jupiter and Saturn appear very close together in the sky! Well, the planets will still be close for several days, and I thought I would go … Continue reading
Posted in Personal, Physics
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Skulls in the Stars 