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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: Physics
How *do* cats land on their feet when falling, anyway?
This post is an exploration of some ideas I put together for a proposed magazine article. Will link to the article if and/or when it becomes available! Last year, I wrote a blog post about the history of “cat-turning”: the … Continue reading
Posted in Animals, Physics
8 Comments
My appearance on WCCB TV!
In the annals of “shameless self-promotion,” I should note one more appearance I’ve made in local media! Yesterday, a journalist from WCCB TV in Charlotte stopped by my office to interview me on camera about invisibility physics and the interesting … Continue reading
Posted in Invisibility, Personal
3 Comments
A brief NPR interview with me on invisibility!
Continuing my recent streak of self-aggrandizing posts, I wanted to point out (again, for those who don’t follow me elsewhere) that I recorded a short interview the other day for our local Charlotte NPR affiliate, WFAE, on the physics of … Continue reading
Posted in Invisibility, Personal
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Dr. SkySkull talking invisibility in the News & Observer!
This has already been making the rounds via other social media today, but for those who aren’t on Facebook or Twitter (lookin’ at you, Dad!), I was interviewed by the News & Observer about invisibility physics and the article appeared … Continue reading
Posted in Invisibility, Personal
4 Comments
1842: Jean-Daniel Colladon guides light with water
Big technological advances often start with very humble beginnings. If you’re reading this post on the internet right now, it is almost certain that the information has come to you at some point in the journey in the form of … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Optics, Physics demos
4 Comments
Cat-turning: the 19th-century scientific cat-dropping craze!
One thing I’ve learn from studying the history of science is that scientists are human beings. Often incredibly weird, weird human beings. For example: in the mid-to-late-1800s, an exciting era in which the foundations of electromagnetic theory were set and … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, History of science, Physics
10 Comments
Hiding from time? New design of a “temporal cloak” makes waves
Is it possible to make something invisible in time as well as in space? It is a fascinating question, a provocative question, a mind-boggling question… wait… what exactly does it mean to “make something invisible in time?” We’ll get to … Continue reading
Posted in Invisibility, Optics
2 Comments
The Kaye effect after dark!
I’ve talked in some detail before about the Kaye effect, in which a shear-thinning fluid such as shampoo or liquid soap can be made to “bounce.” Well, I did one final experiment with the Kaye effect, in order to show … Continue reading
Posted in Physics
2 Comments
Physics demonstrations: Chladni patterns
A good demonstration of a physical phenomenon should be both insightful and exciting. Sometimes, a demonstration succeeds at both so well that it is practically awe-inspiring. Such is the case, for me, with the demonstration of Chladni patterns, exotic and … Continue reading
Posted in Physics, Physics demos
4 Comments
Physics demonstrations: cloaking device?
I’ve spent a lot of time on this blog talking about the optics of invisibility, both hypothetical and actual. Though a number of forms of invisibility have been considered in both science and fiction for over a hundred years, the … Continue reading
Posted in Invisibility, Optics, Physics demos
7 Comments
Skulls in the Stars 