-
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: Optics
Light breaking its own speed limit: how ‘superluminal’ shenanigans work
In a previous optics basics post, we discussed challenges associated with trying to define the velocity of a localized wave or ‘pulse’ of light. Traditional measurements of the velocity of an object involve measuring how far Δd an object travels … Continue reading
Posted in Optics
3 Comments
Scientists make ‘blackest’ material ever!
This was an interesting bit of science news from last week: according to an article on optics.org (free registration required), a research team from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Rice University has fabricated the ‘blackest’ material ever known, which reflects just … Continue reading
Posted in Optics, Physics
Leave a comment
Long-range optical communication… how much would you pay?
There’s a lot of interest in both industry and the military in developing free-space optical communications systems. The basic idea is to use a laser to transmit signals at optical frequencies over distances ranging from a few kilometers to hundreds … Continue reading
Posted in Optics
3 Comments
Some random tips on scientific public speaking
I’m currently in San Jose, at Photonics West, the biggest optics meeting of the SPIE (Society of Photographic Instrumentation Engineers, originally.) I’m only here briefly, and pretty burned out on meetings for the moment. I did see some nice talks … Continue reading
Posted in Optics, Physics
4 Comments
Optics basics: Defining the velocity of a wave
How do we define how fast a wave is going? The question at first glance seems obvious. When we discussed harmonic waves in a previous post, we observed that the velocity of the wave could be measured by measuring how … Continue reading
Posted in Optics, Optics basics
4 Comments
Optics basics: What is a wave? Part IV: Important quantities
To conclude my discussion of optics basics, I want to introduce some of the standard quantities used to describe waves and wave propagation. Unlike previous ‘basics’ posts, this one will necessarily deal with a little bit of algebra and perhaps … Continue reading
Optics basics: What is a wave? Part III: Diffraction
In part II of my series on ‘What is a wave?’, I addressed one of the two most significant behaviors of waves, namely interference, the ability of a wave to ‘interact’ with itself. The second behavior of waves which is … Continue reading
Making light follow a curve (updated)
I was sent a link today to an interesting article about some research done at the University of Central Florida. Researchers have concocted a class of optical beams which appear to follow a curved trajectory in free space propagation. A … Continue reading
Optics basics: What is a wave? Part II: Interference
In the first part of my series on ‘What is a wave?’, I attempted to give a broad definition of a wave, so that we can identify them when we see them. In this part, I will address two of … Continue reading
Optics basics: What is a wave? Part I (updated)
As I’ve mentioned a number of times before, my optics specialty is physical optics, which is the study of the wave properties of light. In order to understand those wave properties, however, it is important to understand what a ‘wave’ … Continue reading
Skulls in the Stars 