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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
Null-field radiationless sources: even more invisible than invisible?
I spend a lot of time talking about invisibility on this blog, as it is a subject near and dear to me: I did my PhD work, completed in 2001, on early historical forms of invisibility. I like to tell … Continue reading
Posted in Invisibility, Optics
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#365papers, part 1!
At the beginning of this year, my friend Jacquelyn Gill (who blogs over at The Contemplative Mammoth) suggested an interesting resolution for academics like us: read at least one scientific paper a day for the entire year. This has been … Continue reading
Posted in Physics
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John Blackburn’s Dead Man’s Handle
This post marks a minor personal milestone: with the book featured in it, I have now read all of John Blackburn‘s published works. I put off reading this one for quite some time for a reason that I’ll explain at the … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Mystery/thriller
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The Burnaby Experiments, by Stephen Gilbert
I really should be writing about novels other than those published by Valancourt Books, and I will, but they have released so many eye-catching books in recent years that I’ve had a hard time staying away. Most recently, I read their … Continue reading
Posted in Horror
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The mystery of the magnetic train
This past week, thanks to Laughing Squid and other sources, a lot of people watched and were amazed by this simple demonstration of electromagnetism in action. It is billed as the “world’s simplest electric train,” and it is almost certainly … Continue reading
Posted in Physics, Physics demos
87 Comments
Ann Gregory, RIP (1974-2014)
One of the joys of twitter is getting to meet so many kind, interesting, and varied people from places all over the world and getting to share, at least a little, in their lives. One of my favorite of these people … Continue reading
Posted in Personal
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Slurstorm, and the flaws in “Shirtstorm” arguments
I hate writing posts like this. I prefer to write about fun physics, history of science and cool horror fiction. But some things are so appalling and disgusting that one must speak up, especially if one’s friends are attacked. You … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?
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The Elementals, by Michael McDowell
Michael McDowell’s reprinted 1981 novel The Elementals conclusively answers a question that I’ve been wondering for years: why are there so few classic haunted house stories? I’ve always been a fan of such stories, or more generally “old dark house” … Continue reading
Posted in Horror
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No Songs for the Stars, by Mary SanGiovanni
I’m rather intrigued these days by the concept of chapbooks, short typically inexpensive books that first became popularized in the 17th and 18th centuries. I guess they never really went away, but recently I’ve been seeing — or noticing — … Continue reading
Posted in Horror
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The Great Sausage Duel of 1865
(Tip o’ the hat to Blake Stacey for first pointing this story out to me!) The history of science is filled with macabre tales of self-experimentation, amoral experimentation on others, horrific accidents, and even mysterious and sinister disappearances. Perhaps the … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, History of science
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Skulls in the Stars 