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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
Emmie Mears’ Storm in a Teacup
It’s a new year, and time to get back on the blogging train! (It is a train, right? I am so bad with metaphors these days.) Some time back, I realized that I was definitely not reading enough fiction by … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Weird fiction
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Spoiler-filled Star Wars thoughts and open discussion thread
So — I saw it last night. It was amazing. In fact, I saw it just in time, as this tweet of mine indicates: Left theater, walked by little kid blurting out MAJOR movie spoiler. Saw the film JUST IN … Continue reading
Posted in Entertainment, Personal
54 Comments
The Gun-Fight Before Christmas
Been busy at work and struggling to finish new science posts for the blog. In the meantime, here’s some silliness that I did on twitter. So what does Christmas mean to you? Birth of the savior? A day to strive for … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, Politics, Silliness
2 Comments
Marguerite O’Loghlin Crowe steps from the shadows
Update: Additional images provided by Alice Zent at the end of the post! Some five years ago, I shared an intriguing anecdote from the biography of Albert A. Michelson, in which Michelson — who had a reputation of being incredibly … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Women in science
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Christine Campbell Thomson’s Not At Night (1925)
When I started to think about it recently, it occurred to me that I didn’t know much about horror fiction between the time of Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) and H.P. Lovecraft (1890-1937). There are a number of obvious standouts — … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Weird fiction
8 Comments
“Science Chamber of Horrors” talk at the Schiele Museum
On October 29, 2015, I was invited to present a Science Cafe at the Schiele Museum in Gastonia, NC, based on my “Science Chamber of Horrors” Tumblr! I think it went well and I appreciated the invitation to speak there. … Continue reading
Posted in General science, History of science, Horror, Personal
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Halloween Treats 2015
Once again it’s time to post a collection of “Halloween Treats”: classic ghost and horror stories to be read in the dark of night! I’ve been doing this since 2007, and you can read the old editions here: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and … Continue reading
Posted in Horror
3 Comments
Optical rogue waves at American Scientist!
Been quite busy lately, but I wrote a blog post on recent research on rogue waves, the rare killers of the sea, at American Scientist, which appeared this week! A snippet: Until these discoveries, such rogues were thought to be … Continue reading
Posted in Optics, Physics
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Jennifer Foehner Wells’ Fluency
Been away from blogging for a while due to work and stress — going to start catching up on my book blogging! A massive, mysterious alien craft is spotted in solar system, seemingly dormant. A team of scientists and astronauts … Continue reading
Posted in Science fiction
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My Google Hangout Seminar on Invisibility Physics!
In lieu of more substantial writing on the blog, here’s a link to another presentation I gave! I was invited to give a Google Hangout Seminar at the University of Central Arkansas on “How Not to be Seen: The History … Continue reading
Posted in Invisibility, Optics, Personal
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Skulls in the Stars 