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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 Sea Demons, by Victor Rousseau
Continuing a discussion of odd stories of invisibility in fiction that I came across in writing my book on the history of invisibility physics. Pulp stories are sometimes quite a ride. They can be filled with bizarre ideas and twists … Continue reading
Posted in Invisibility, Weird fiction
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The Secret of Wilhelm Storitz, by Jules Verne
My book on the history and physics of invisibility is off to the publisher for final approval, though there’s still some little stuff I want to add, including a comprehensive bibliography of stories about invisibility. Along the way, I’ve read … Continue reading
Posted in Invisibility, Science fiction, Weird fiction
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James Clerk Maxwell – Vampyre poet?
So James Clerk Maxwell was one of the greatest theoretical physicists of the 19th century, even perhaps the greatest. He is most famous for compiling a system of equations in the 1860s that describe the interactions of electricity and magnetism, … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Horror
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Halloween Treats 2021: Invisibility edition
Every year since starting this blog, I’ve done a post near Halloween linking to a bunch of public domain horror stories to read to get into the season. It so happens this year that I also just finished the draft … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Horror Masters, Invisibility, Lovecraft
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Fake Book Titles Extravaganza, Part 5!
Time for another round of Fake Book Titles that I’ve done, compiled from twitter! You can see compilation 1, compilation 2, compilation 3 and compilation 4 at the links. It’s been a while since I compiled these, so there’s a lot to catch up … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, Silliness
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The oldest cat selfie? (1904)
I’ve said before that old illustrated magazines are a treasure trove of fascinating stuff. From the same 1904 issue of The Strand where I found the vintage math puzzle in my previous post, I found this amazing reader-submitted photograph: In … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, Animals, History of science
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A vintage math puzzle!
Over a decade ago, at the beginning of this blog, I wrote a blog post about some classic math puzzles where a nonsensical result is arrived at by seemingly plausible mathematics; in the post, I challenged folks to figure out … Continue reading
Posted in Mathematics
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A short hiatus
In the wake of my 14 year blog anniversary, I’ve also been hit with one of the biggest episodes of depression I’ve ever experienced. Going to take a bit of time to see if I can hopefully get myself back … Continue reading
Posted in Personal
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A short blogiversary note!
Hi folks! I have been rather busy with work and book writing so I haven’t been posting much, but I haven’t given up and will hopefully be back with more interesting stuff soon! (Especially once I get my book draft … Continue reading
Posted in Personal
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