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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
Measuring the ‘kick’ of a photon leaving a fiber!
In physics, there are a number of fundamental and seemingly simple questions which have remained a source of controversy for years, even decades. Last month, a paper was published by a Chinese research group describing an experiment which throws new … Continue reading
Posted in Optics, Physics
5 Comments
Faraday’s unified theory of… electricity? (1833)
This is the second in a series of posts describing the researches of the super-experimentalist Michael Faraday (1791-1867) into electricity and magnetism. In the first post of the series, I discussed his first paper on his electrical research, in which … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Physics
7 Comments
Isaac Asimov’s How Did We Find Out About Black Holes
About a month ago, Blake over at Science After Sunclipse posted an image of some of his early kindergarten science scribblings. That got me thinking about my own early interest in science, and the sources that motivated me. While visiting … Continue reading
Posted in Physics
5 Comments
Mr. Faraday’s (most excellent) experimental researches in electricity (1831)
Michael Faraday (1791 – 1867) was a master of electricity. His researches established may important results in electromagnetic theory, including some which are now so taken for granted that Faraday’s name is unfortunately not even thought of in connection with … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Physics
28 Comments
Turning a problem into a solution: aquatic clean energy from vortex-induced vibration?
About a week ago, I came across an intriguing article on telegraph.co.uk, entitled, “Ocean currents can power the world, say scientists.” Such a title is an immediate eyebrow-raiser for me, knowing the propensity of the news media to (a) overhype … Continue reading
Posted in Physics
4 Comments
X-rays from Scotch tape?
One of the joys of physics, and science in general, is that even seemingly mundane objects occasionally yield physical surprises. A great example of this made the news about a month ago: the observation that, under the right circumstances, x-rays … Continue reading
Posted in Physics
23 Comments
Optics basics: Inverse problems
In previous posts, I’ve talked at some length about computed tomography (CT) and optical coherence tomography (OCT). Each of these is a technique for determining information about the internal structure of an object, such as the human body, from exterior … Continue reading
Posted in Invisibility, Optics, Optics basics
6 Comments
Fabry, Perot, and their wonderful interferometer (1897, 1899)
This is my entry for the fifth edition of The Giant’s Shoulders, to be held at Podblack Blog on November 15th. By the late 1800s, physicists had begun a serious study of the structure of the atom. The best tool … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Optics, Physics
12 Comments
Physics, guitars and pitch harmonics
One of the fun parts about being a scientist is running across “day-to-day” phenomena which can be understood much better using a little bit of one’s knowledge. One of these I’ve had bouncing around in my head for a while: … Continue reading
Posted in Physics
19 Comments
“Interference between different photons never occurs:” Not! (1963)
Note: This post is my contribution to the third edition of The Giant’s Shoulders, a carnival of blog posts on classic science papers. One of the most famous statements concerning quantum mechanics, as it relates to the light particles known … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Optics, Physics
26 Comments
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