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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
Lord Rayleigh vs. the Aether! (1902)
(Note: This is an attempt to get myself rolling on my long-ignored series of posts explaining Einstein’s theories of relativity. It’s also a really cool experiment in the history of science.) One of the most fascinating aspects of 19th century … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Optics, Relativity
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Barkla shows that x-rays have polarization (1905)
It is one of the quirks of scientific progress that many great experiments are forgotten as the things they demonstrate become common knowledge in the scientific community. A good example of this is the 1890 experiment of Otto Wiener, which … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Physics
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Destroying the planet… with science!
When the Large Hadron Collider was fired up for the first time back in September, it caused much wailing and rending of clothes by people who were convinced that the device would create miniature black holes which would destroy the … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, History of science, Physics
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Who first suggested the nuclear atom?
Here’s a little obscure physics trivia for you: who first suggested that an atom might have a structure consisting of a positively-charged “nucleus” surrounded by orbiting electrons? The easy, and mostly correct, answer is Ernest Rutherford. In 1909, he supervised … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Physics
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Mr. Faraday goes wild — with atomic speculation! (1844)
Michael Faraday (1791-1867), whom I’ve talked about numerous times, has a reputation as being a bit of a theoretical lightweight, namely because he had little formal mathematical training. In spite of this, however, he had an ability to think abstractly … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Physics
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Michael Faraday, grand unified theorist? (1851)
At long last, I get to blog about the paper that first piqued my interest about the research of Michael Faraday! If you haven’t been following my Faraday posts, let me give a quick recap: Michael Faraday (1791-1867) was one … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Physics
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Faraday brings light and magnetism together (1845)
The more I read of Michael Faraday’s work, the more I am in awe of the scientist’s insights and abilities. As evidence of the remarkable intuition he had regarding the forces of nature, consider the following passage: I have long … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Optics, Physics
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Michael Faraday, scientific rock-star!
I’ve been planning another post on the scientific discoveries of Michael Faraday, but in the process of researching his work on so-called Faraday rotation, I came across a wonderful story which is too charming not to share! By 1844, Faraday … Continue reading
Posted in History of science
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Do optics like Darwin’s Dad!
A few days ago, I was wondeirng what else I could contribute to the celebration of the birthday of Charles Darwin, father of the theory of evolution which forms the cornerstone of modern biology. Of course, I’m an optical physicist, … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Optics
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Evolution’s influence in pulp fiction!
This February 12th will be the 200th anniversary of the birthday of Charles Darwin, father of the theory of evolution which forms the cornerstone of modern biology. Being that this birthday coincides nicely with the February 15th deadline of The … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Weird fiction
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