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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
Dennis Wheatley’s To the Devil a Daughter
Occasionally, I just have a feeling about a book. I’ve read a number of novels by the author Dennis Wheatley (1897-1977) and have generally been impressed. Way back in 2008 I favorably reviewed Wheatley’s supernatural thrillers The Devil Rides Out … Continue reading
The Giant’s Shoulders: The Fiftieth Anniversary edition is out!
The fiftieth edition of the history of science blog carnival The Giant’s Shoulders is up at From the Hands of Quacks! In this lovely edition, you can read about science history in the Olympics, new blogs on women in science, … Continue reading
Posted in General science, Science news
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My 5-year blogiversary!
I almost missed it! It turns out today, August 14th, 2012, is the 5-year anniversary of the founding of this blog! I would have in fact missed my “blogiversary” entirely if Jason Goldman of The Thoughtful Animal hadn’t tweeted congratulations … Continue reading
Posted in Personal, Physics
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What’s the difference between “transparency” and “invisibility”?
In writing my previous post on The Murderer Invisible, I started thinking again about the relationship between something being “transparent” and something being truly “invisible”. Most of us can appreciate that, under the right circumstances, a transparent object like a … Continue reading
Posted in Invisibility, Optics
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Philip Wylie’s The Murderer Invisible
If it were a mystery novel, The Murderer Invisible would be a failure right off the bat, as the plot twist is explained right there in the title! As science fiction and horror, however, this 1931 book by Philip Wylie … Continue reading
Posted in Invisibility, Science fiction
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The Giant’s Shoulders #49: “Crisis what crisis?” edition is out!
I’m a few days late in noting this, but the 49th edition of the history of science blog carnival The Giant’s Shoulders is up at The Renaissance Mathematicus! In this edition, you can read about: Sports doping, Victorian style, The … Continue reading
Posted in General science, Science news
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Wackerbarth whacks Piazzi’s pyramid power! (1867)
One aspect of science that I try and emphasize time and again is that it is a community effort. Individuals can make discoveries, but individuals are subject to mistakes (such as the recent arsenic life brouhaha), deliberate fraud (as in … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, History of science
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A. Merritt’s Seven Footprints to Satan
Abraham Grace Merritt (1884-1943) was an author with an vivid and bizarre imagination! Among his surreal fiction stories one can find a hive-like race of metal, electrically powered geometric shapes (The Metal Monster, 1920), a colossal stone face dripping tears … Continue reading
Posted in Mystery/thriller
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Optics basics: refraction
In all of my discussions of basic principles of optics, I’ve so far neglected to talk about one of the most fundamental and important: refraction! In short, refraction is the bending of a ray of light when it passes from … Continue reading
Posted in Optics basics
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Weird Fiction Monday: Mass Effect: Apocalypse
(Updated to add one more smart-ass comment.) It’s time for Weird Fiction Monday, when I post stories that I’ve written — both new and old — for the entertainment (hopefully) of my readers! As always, I note that I haven’t … Continue reading
Posted in Fiction
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Skulls in the Stars 