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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
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, quantum
26 Comments
New ‘cloaking’ results? Not really, but interesting anyway
About a week ago, I reported on another ‘teaser’ in the media about ‘optical cloaks’, hypothetical devices which would in principle make objects contained in their core completely invisible. Such devices have gotten a lot of attention, both scientifically and … Continue reading
Posted in Invisibility, Optics, Physics
8 Comments
The cloaking craze: A look at the original papers
As I noted a couple of days ago, apparently there has been another significant experimental breakthrough in the development of dielectric cloaking devices. Researchers at UC Berkeley were responsible, though it is a little unclear what exactly the breakthrough is. … Continue reading
Posted in Invisibility, Optics, Physics
15 Comments
Another ‘invisibility cloak’ teaser!
Via several sources (Times Online, via HuffPost and AP, via Pharyngula), I see that there’s another pending high-profile release concerning ‘invisibility cloaks’. Though the physics behind them is accurate, the media is of course pushing rather hyperbolic headlines again: “Science … Continue reading
Posted in Invisibility, Science news
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The discovery, rediscovery, and re-rediscovery of computed tomography
Note: This post is my contribution to The Giant’s Shoulders #2, to be held at The Lay Scientist. I thought I’d cover something a little more recent than my previous entries to the classic paper carnival; in truth, I need … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Physics
13 Comments
