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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. -
Category Archives: History of science
Robert Williams Wood and the mystery of anomalous dispersion (1901)
I’ve been hard at work in recent months on a new textbook on electromagnetic waves, and that has led me to dig deep into understanding a number of subjects, and their history, that I have only really casually considered in … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Optics, Physics
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My Falling Felines and Fundamental Physics colloquium at APL!
Back in January of this year, I gave a talk about Falling Felines and Fundamental Physics at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, and it was one of my favorite presentations on the subject, not to mention my most up-to-date! … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Physics
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“The birth of electromagnetism” on TikTok!
I have made another history of science video for TikTok, this time focusing on the curious story of how electromagnetism was discovered in 1820 in an experiment that is utterly unique for one really big reason: Like a lot of … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Physics
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Robert Williams Wood adds invisibility to his textbook (1911)
It’s kind of a fun phenomenon that no matter how thoroughly I research my history of science books, after they’re published I always find something that surprises me. In this case, I was tracking down some data on the physics … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Invisibility
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Helgoland, by Carlo Rovelli
Book 1 of my new modest goal of reading and blogging about 26 books this year! This one is a little bit of a cheat, as I read much of it near the end of last year, but I finished … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Physics
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Frank Perret’s The Eruption of Mt. Pelée 1929-1932
I’ve mentioned before that I’ve started to experiment with doing history of science TikToks for fun, and did one not long ago about Frank Perret’s brush with death in the path of a pyroclastic flow on Mount Pelée somewhere around … Continue reading
Posted in History of science
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The fate of Charles Delaunay on TikTok!
Hey folks, I posted a new short history of science video on TikTok, telling a slightly eerie story in the spirit of Victorian Christmas ghost stories about the fate of astronomer Charles Delaunay.
Posted in History of science, Horror
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From the archives: Phantasmagoria: How Étienne-Gaspard Robert terrified Paris for science
This is another classic post that I will probably turn into a TikTok video in the future, but I am very proud of the writing I did here!
Posted in History of science, Optics
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Posting history of science on TikTok!
Just a short note to let people know that I’ve started experimenting with posting videos on TikTok about the weird history of science stories that I know! Will see how long I can put up with the effort! For those … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Personal
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From the archives: Barkla shows that x-rays have polarization (1905)
Thought I’d share an old post from the physics archives, talking about a very important yet largely forgotten milestone in physics: the demonstration that X-rays are in fact another type of electromagnetic wave!
Posted in History of science, Physics
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