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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. -
Search Results for: faraday
Mr. Faraday goes wild — with atomic speculation! (1844)
Michael Faraday (1791-1867), whom I’ve talked about numerous times, has a reputation as being a bit of a theoretical lightweight, namely because he had little formal mathematical training. In spite of this, however, he had an ability to think abstractly … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Physics
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Michael Faraday, grand unified theorist? (1851)
At long last, I get to blog about the paper that first piqued my interest about the research of Michael Faraday! If you haven’t been following my Faraday posts, let me give a quick recap: Michael Faraday (1791-1867) was one … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Physics
8 Comments
Faraday brings light and magnetism together (1845)
The more I read of Michael Faraday’s work, the more I am in awe of the scientist’s insights and abilities. As evidence of the remarkable intuition he had regarding the forces of nature, consider the following passage: I have long … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Optics, Physics
14 Comments
Michael Faraday, scientific rock-star!
I’ve been planning another post on the scientific discoveries of Michael Faraday, but in the process of researching his work on so-called Faraday rotation, I came across a wonderful story which is too charming not to share! By 1844, Faraday … Continue reading
Posted in History of science
4 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
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
The Influence, by Ramsey Campbell
I’ve been trying to get together enough focus to start reading fiction regularly again, and there was no better way to spark that interest and begin 2020 than by reading one of my favorite authors of all time, Ramsey Campbell. … Continue reading
Posted in Horror
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Visualizing the geometric phase of light!
Another post inspired by my book on Falling Felines and Fundamental Physics! I talk about geometric phases in the book in the context of falling cats, but here I focus on the polarization of light. I regularly argue that most … Continue reading
A decade of history of science!
I’ve picked up a significant number of new followers on the blog lately, and this combined with the wrap-up of the decade seems like a good time to share some of my favorite history of science posts of the past … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Personal, Physics
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History of the Conservation of Energy: Booms, Blood, and Beer (Part 3)
The final long-awaited conclusion of a trilogy of posts describing the history of the discovery of conservation of energy, inspired by my research on “Falling Felines and Fundamental Physics.” Part 1 can be read here, and part 2 can be … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Physics
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