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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. Archives
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Category Archives: Invisibility
Optical wormholes: punching virtual tunnels in space via metamaterials!
Though the introduction of optical invisibility cloaks in 2006 caused a huge sensation around the world in both the media and the general public, arguably even more significant to the optical science community is the technique used to design cloaks. … Continue reading
Posted in Invisibility, Optics
5 Comments
Illusion optics: the physics of making things look like other things!
The idea of optical cloaking, or more generally the concept of invisibility, has gone from science fiction trope to serious topic of physics research to subfield of optical science in its own right in a remarkably short period of time. … Continue reading
Posted in Invisibility, Optics
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Invention of the “perfect” invisibility cloak?
In 2006, a number of researchers made international headlines with the announcement that they had laid the theoretical foundations for the construction of an “invisibility cloak,” a device that has been a staple of horror, fantasy and science fiction for … Continue reading
Posted in Invisibility, Optics
5 Comments
What’s the difference between “transparency” and “invisibility”?
In writing my previous post on The Murderer Invisible, I started thinking again about the relationship between something being “transparent” and something being truly “invisible”. Most of us can appreciate that, under the right circumstances, a transparent object like a … Continue reading
Posted in Invisibility, Optics
8 Comments
Philip Wylie’s The Murderer Invisible
If it were a mystery novel, The Murderer Invisible would be a failure right off the bat, as the plot twist is explained right there in the title! As science fiction and horror, however, this 1931 book by Philip Wylie … Continue reading
Posted in Invisibility, Science fiction
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So, what is a “temporal cloak”, anyway?
I’ve been saying for a few years that optical science has entered a truly remarkable new era: instead of asking the question, “What are the physical limitations on what light can do?”, we are now asking, “How can we make … Continue reading
Posted in Invisibility, Optics
6 Comments
Isaac Newton… Father of invisibility physics?
My blog has been a good impetus to research a number of interesting scientific topics more deeply than I would otherwise have had the ambition to do. For instance, since the blog’s inception, I’ve been pushing the origins of “invisibility physics” … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Invisibility, Science fiction
2 Comments
“Visions of invisibility in fiction” in Optics & Photonics News!
I’m very excited — this morning my first popular science article written for a magazine appeared online! “Visions of invisibility in fiction” appears in the July/August issue of Optics & Photonics News, the news magazine of the Optical Society of … Continue reading
Posted in Invisibility, Optics, Personal
8 Comments
Invisibility talk in the Critical Wit podcast!
For those who aren’t tired yet of hearing me talk about science, you can now hear me in the second installment of the Critical Wit Podcast, hosted by Chris Lindsay! I pontificate on the topic of invisibility cloaks and the … Continue reading
Posted in Invisibility, Personal
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Post at Scientific American guest blog on invisibility!
For those wondering where my science-related posts have been these days, I have at least a partial answer: I have a guest post on the Scientific American guest blog on, “Invisibility: After several years of research, it’s just gotten weirder”! … Continue reading
Posted in Invisibility, Optics
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