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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: michael faraday
Optics basics: reflection
It’s been some 5 years since I wrote my last “Optics basics” post! The goal of that series of posts was to introduce some of the most fundamental concepts in optics in a non-technical way, in part so I wouldn’t … Continue reading
Posted in Optics basics
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Dircks and Pepper: A Tale of Two Ghosts
It is often told that in the 1860s, John Henry Pepper used science and technology to invent a ghost. Or did he? This is the surprisingly tricky question that we will try to answer in this lengthy post. It is a … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Optics
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Twitter Weird Science Facts, Volume 18
Getting soooo close to having done a full year of Twitter weirdscifacts! Read below to learn the amazing ability that this seemingly ordinary European robin possesses.
Posted in General science, Science news, Weirdscifacts
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Twitter Weird Science Facts, Volume 16
Time to summarize more weirdscifacts as posted on Twitter! Read on to learn about the amazing origins of the rather innocent looking palm pictured below.
Posted in General science, Weirdscifacts
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Twitter Weird Science Facts, Volume 6
Time for another roundup of Twitter #weirdscifacts! Read below to learn the amazing secret this single unearthed coin revealed.
Posted in General science, Weirdscifacts
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1801: Fraunhofer gets research funding in the worst possible way
It is rather unsettling to think that scientific careers are often made by simple luck. For example, eventual Nobel Prize winner Albert Michelson (1852-1931) only got an education thanks to the literal last-minute intervention of none other than the President … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, History of science, Physics
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The mystery of the magnetic train
This past week, thanks to Laughing Squid and other sources, a lot of people watched and were amazed by this simple demonstration of electromagnetism in action. It is billed as the “world’s simplest electric train,” and it is almost certainly … Continue reading
Posted in Physics, Physics demos
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Making magnets speak: the Barkhausen effect
Occasionally I come across a demonstration of physics that is so simple to implement yet illustrates a phenomenon so profound that it almost takes my breath away. I learned of one such demonstration recently, which requires only a handful of … Continue reading
Posted in Physics
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Science Online 2012: Weird and Wonderful Stories in the History of Science
This is the first of a series of posts summarizing my observations and experiences at Science Online 2012, which I attended last week. When I was starting out as a student of physics, most of the stories I heard … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Personal
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Weird science facts, September 28 — October 4
Somewhere along the way, I failed to notice that I passed the 1 1/2 year mark of #weirdscifacts on Twitter! Enjoy them while you can — I’ll be definitely stopping at 2 years! 564. Sep 28: The psychedelic frogfish moves … Continue reading
Posted in Weirdscifacts
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