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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
How many uses for a nuclear weapon can YOU think of?
Ah, nuclear weapons! Having grown up while the Cold War was still going strong, I can almost think about nuclear bombs with a sentimental eye — though the threat of nuclear terrorism is still a possibility, we’re much further away … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, History of science, Physics
30 Comments
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
9 Comments
The secret molecular life of soap bubbles (1913)
Nature can be extremely devious in the way it hides its secrets. Sometimes the most remarkable and profound insights are staring us right in the face every day in the most mundane phenomena. For instance, we have all seen the … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Optics
11 Comments
John Derbyshire: wrong even 176 years ago
Update: Added a couple sentences to clarify that I’m not attacking psychology or psychometrics, but rather the simple-minded attempts distort these fields to justify racism. Also revised my statements about Derbyshire’s particular claims, to be more explicit about the flaws … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, History of science, Politics
24 Comments
The Giant’s Shoulders #45
Welcome to the 45th edition of The Giant’s Shoulders, the monthly history of science blog carnival! We’ve got a lot of interesting entries to cover, so let’s get going! Captain of the men of death. Over at White Coat Underground, … Continue reading
Posted in General science, History of science
9 Comments
1901 — the year the nuclear atom was “invented”!
So what does an atom look like? If you were to pull someone at random off the street and ask them to draw a picture of an atom, they would more likely than not draw something like this: Almost everybody … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Physics
7 Comments
“Moon? What Moon? Never seen it.” (c. 1804)
I risk dipping too often into the well of the life of François Arago, but this evening during my lecture I had to share an anecdote from his autobiography, and thought it was worth sharing here as well! At the … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, History of science
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Augustin-Jean Fresnel’s early years
I posted this on Google+ earlier, but it seemed worthwhile to expand it into a blog post. Augustin-Jean Fresnel (1788-1827) is, in my opinion, one of the underappreciated giants in optical physics. Though Thomas Young’s double slit experiment was the … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Optics
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1813: Faraday learns about the politics of science
Those of us in science like to envision our profession as a noble (“Nobel”?) calling, above the petty squabbles that taint other endeavors. The reality, of course, is that science is susceptible to politics just like any other field. One … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, History of science
20 Comments
Science Online 2012: Weird and Wonderful Stories in the History of Science
This is the first of a series of posts summarizing my observations and experiences at Science Online 2012, which I attended last week. When I was starting out as a student of physics, most of the stories I heard … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Personal
10 Comments
Skulls in the Stars 