Much has been written about Albert Einstein, technical and biographical, but very little remains as valuable as this unique hybrid of a book written by Einstein's colleague and contemporary. Both rich in personal insights and grounded in a deep knowledge of twentieth-century science, Phillip Frank's biography anchors the reader with a lucid overview of physics and draws an intimate portrait of the Nobel Prize–winner.

A great mathematician and teacher bridges the gap between science and the humanities in this exposition of the philosophy of science. Philipp Frank, a distinguished physicist and philosopher in his own right, traces the history of science from Aristotle to Einstein to illustrate philosophy’s ongoing role in the scientific process. Suitable for undergraduate students and other readers, this volume explains modern technology’s role in the gradual erosion of the rapport between physical theories and philosophical systems, and offers suggestions for restoring the link between these related areas. Dr. Frank examines the ancient Greek concept of natural science to illustrate the development of modern science; then, using geometry as an example, he charts its progress from Euclidean principles through the interpretations of Descartes, Mill, Kant, and the rise of four-dimensional and non-Euclidean geometry. Additional topics include the laws of motion, before and after innovations of Galileo and Newton; perceptions of motion, light, and relativity through the ages; metaphysical interpretations of relativistic physics; the motion of atomic objects and the phenomena and formulations of atomic physics; and the principle of causality and the validation of theories.

Relativity: A Richer Truth is a book written by Philipp Frank that explores the fundamental principles of Albert Einstein's theory of relativity. The book is a comprehensive guide that delves into the history and development of the theory, explaining the complex concepts and ideas in a clear and concise manner.The book is divided into two parts, with the first part focusing on the historical background of relativity and the second part delving into the mathematical and physical principles that underlie the theory. The author provides a detailed account of Einstein's life and work, tracing the evolution of his ideas and the scientific and philosophical debates that surrounded them.The second part of the book explores the mathematical and physical principles that form the foundation of relativity. The author explains the concepts of space-time, the equivalence principle, and the nature of gravity, among others, in a way that is accessible to readers with no prior knowledge of physics.In addition to providing a clear and comprehensive introduction to relativity, the book also highlights the broader implications of the theory for our understanding of the universe and our place within it. The author discusses the philosophical and cultural implications of relativity, exploring its impact on our concepts of time, space, and reality.Overall, Relativity: A Richer Truth is an engaging and informative book that offers readers a deeper understanding of one of the most important scientific theories of the modern era. It is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of science, physics, or the philosophical implications of relativity.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.

University of Chicago (1969)

The Law of Causality and its Limits was the principal philosophical work of the physicist turned philosopher, Philipp Frank. Born in Vienna on March 20, 1884, Frank died in Cambridge, Massachusetts on July 21, 1966. He received his doctorate in 1907 at the University of Vienna in theoretical physics, having studied under Ludwig Boltzmann; his sub sequent research in physics and mathematics was represented by more than 60 scientific papers. Moreover his great success as teacher and expositor was recognized throughout the scientific world with publication of his collaborative Die Differentialgleichungen der Mechanik und Physik, with Richard von Mises, in 1925-27. Frank was responsible for the second volume, on physics, and especially noted for his authoritative article on classical Hamiltonian mechanics and optics. Among his earliest papers were those, beginning in 1908, devoted to special relativity, which together with general relativity and physical cosmology occupied him throughout his life. Already in 1907, Frank published his seminal paper 'Kausalgesetz und Erfahrung' ('Experience and the Law of Causality'), much later collected with a splendid selection of his essays on philosophy of science, in English (1941c and 1949g, in our Bibliography). Joining the first 'Vienna Circle' in the first decade of the 20th century, with Hans Hahn, mathematician, and Otto Neurath, sociologist and economist, and deeply influenced by studies of Ernst Mach's critical conceptual histories of science and by the striking challenge of Poincare and Duhem, Frank continued his epistemological investigations.