Philipp Frank facts for kids

Philipp Frank (born March 20, 1884 – died July 21, 1966) was a brilliant person who studied physics, mathematics, and philosophy. He was known for his ideas in logical positivism, which is a way of thinking about science and knowledge. He was also a member of a famous group of thinkers called the Vienna Circle.

Frank's Life Story

Philipp Frank was born in Vienna, which was part of Austria-Hungary at the time. He went to the University of Vienna to study physics. In 1907, he finished his studies with a special project in theoretical physics. His teacher was a famous scientist named Ludwig Boltzmann.

Frank started teaching at the University of Vienna in 1910. Later, in 1912, another very famous scientist, Albert Einstein, suggested Frank take his place as a professor. This was at the German Charles-Ferdinand University in Prague. Frank taught there until 1938. Some of his students who became important scientists included Reinhold Furth and Peter Bergmann.

In 1938, Frank was invited to America by Harvard University. He was going to give talks about quantum theory and the philosophy of modern physics. But while he was getting ready to start his lectures, Germany invaded Czechoslovakia. Since Frank was Jewish, it was not safe for him to go back to Prague. So, he stayed in America and became a teacher of physics and mathematics at Harvard. He taught there until he retired in 1954.

In 1947, Frank started something called the Institute for the Unity of Science. This institute was part of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He created it because he believed that different areas of knowledge should work together. The institute held regular meetings where many different kinds of thinkers came together.

Philipp Frank had a younger brother named Josef Frank. Josef was also very well-known for his work as an architect and designer.

Frank's Ideas on Mach's Principle

During World War II, Philipp Frank gave lectures at Harvard where he talked about an idea called Mach's principle. He used a simple example to explain it. He said that the scientist Ernst Mach once described it like this:

"When the subway jerks, it's the fixed stars that throw you down."

Frank explained that Mach used the subway example to show something important. It means that even if you are inside the Earth, the way distant objects in space affect you is direct. This idea was interesting because it suggested that things far away could have an immediate effect. However, it didn't quite fit with Albert Einstein's ideas about how actions from far away might take time to reach us.

Books and Papers by Frank

Philipp Frank wrote many important books and papers. Here are a few of them:

• Philosophy of Science, published in 1957.
• Einstein: His Life and Times, first published in 1947.
• Foundations of Physics, published in 1946.
• "Einstein's Philosophy of Science," a paper published in Reviews of Modern Physics in 1949.

See also

• List of Austrian scientists