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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
Some more women in science, and their appreciators
I thought, before this past week, that I appreciated quite well the important but often unacknowledged role that women have played in the history of science and mathematics. It turns out that I’ve hardly scratched the surface of their contributions, … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Women in science
23 Comments
Women published in the Royal Society, 1890-1930
I’ve been struggling to think of a woman scientist to profile for Ada Lovelace Day! Ada Lovelace (1815-1852) was a brilliant woman mathematician and arguably the first computer programmer, designing a program for Charles Babbage’s (never constructed) Analytical Engine. Ada … Continue reading
Posted in General science, History of science, Women in science
12 Comments
Pwned by a historian of science!
I knew this moment would come eventually! As an amateur scholar of the history of science, I’ve dreaded the day that I get my facts screwed up enough to bring commentary from an actual historian. Well, that day has come … Continue reading
Posted in History of science
6 Comments
My talk on “Forgotten milestones in the history of optics”
I just got finished giving a talk to the graduate students of my department on “Forgotten milestones in the history of optics”. The talk seemed to be very well-received, and I’ve already had faculty suggesting that I should give it … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Optics
15 Comments
Perpetual motion — nonsense for over 100 years
Some two years ago, I wrote a post about a device called the “whipmag”, a thinly-disguised perpetual motion machine based on magnets that would supposedly accelerate without an external source of energy once set in motion. I was understandably critical … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, History of science
24 Comments
A WTF scientific paper from Edinburgh, 1884
I’m still quite busy finishing off my book, and a grant proposal in the meantime, but I thought I’d share a very odd paper from the Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 13 (1884), 23-24, entitled, “Extraordinary occurrence at … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, History of science, Physics
11 Comments
The Giant’s Shoulders #20
Welcome to the February 1(7)th, 2010 edition of The Giant’s Shoulders! I seem to have had some shorted connections with the scheduled host, so I’ve ended up taking on the hosting myself this month. BOOK REVIEW: Emma Townshend’s Darwin’s Dogs. … Continue reading
Posted in General science, History of science
5 Comments
Mythbusters were scooped — by 130 years! (Archimedes death ray)
Searching through old journals results in wonderfully serendipitous moments. I originally started searching through the Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh for articles by Lord Kelvin, but along the way have found all sorts of interesting and thought-provoking papers. … Continue reading
Posted in History of science
35 Comments
Mythbusters were scooped — by 130 years! (Finger in the barrel)
During my first evening in San Antonio, I sequestered myself in my hotel room to polish up my presentation. Fortunately, there was a Mythbusters marathon on the Discovery Channel at that time, so I was able to keep myself marginally … Continue reading
Posted in Entertainment, History of science, Physics
11 Comments
Lord Kelvin vs. the Aether! (1901)
The more I study the history of aether physics, the more I feel that modern physicists underappreciate both the huge influence the theory had on the development of physics and how it indirectly spurred many positive scientific discoveries, even though … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Physics
14 Comments
Skulls in the Stars 