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Einstein His Life and Times By PHILIPP FRANK. Contents include: I. EINSTEIN'S YOUTH AND TRAINING 1 Family Background 3 2 Childhood 6 3 Gymnasium in Munich 10 4 Intellectual Interests 12 5 Departure from Munich 15 6 Student at Zurich 18 7 Official of a Patent Office 21 II. CONCEPTIONS OF THE PHYSICAL WORLD BEFORE EINSTEIN 1 Philosophical Conception of Nature 25 2 Organismic Physics of the Middle Ages 27 3 Mechanistic Physics and Philosophy 28 4 Relativity Principle in Newtonian Mechanics 30 5 Ether as a Mechanical Hypothesis 32 6 Remnants of Medieval Concepts in Mechanistic Physics 34 7 Critics of the Mechanistic Philosophy 36 8 Ernst Mach: The General Laws of Physics Are Summaries of Observations Organized in Simple Forms 38 9 Henri Polncarl: The General Laws of Physics Are Free Creations of the Human Mind 40 10 Positivistic and Pragmatic Movements 42 11 Science at the End of the Nineteenth Century 45 HI. BEGINNING OF A NEW ERA IN PHYSICS 1 Life in Bern 49 2 Interest in Philosophy 50 3 The Fundamental Hypotheses of the Theory of Relativity 53 vli Contents 4 Consequences of Einstein's Two Hypotheses 55 5 Relativity of Time 57 6 Relativity of Other Physical Concepts 63 7 Equivalence of Mass and Energy 65 8 Theory of Brownian Motion 67 9 Origin of the Quantum Theory 69 10 Theory of the Photon 71 IV. EINSTEIN AT PRAGUE 1 Professor at the University of Zurich 74 2 Appointment to Prague 77 3 Colleagues at Prague 80 4 TA? Jews in Prague 83 5 Einstein's Personality Portrayed in a Novel 85 6 Einstein as a Professor 89 7 Generalization of the Special Theory of Relativity 91 8 Influence of Gravity on the Propagation of Light 94 9 Departure from Prague 98 V. EINSTEIN AT BERLIN 1 The Solvay Congress 101 2 Trip to Vienna 103 3 Invitation to Berlin 106 4 Einstein's Position in the Academic Life of Berlin 109 5 Relationship with Colleagues 112 6 Relationship with Students 116 7 Outbrea^ of the World War 119 8 German Science in the War 121 9 Lz'jfe iVz Wartime 123 VI. THE GENERAL THEORY OF RELATIVITY 1 New Theory of Gravitation 127 2 . R0/ ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Einstein: His Life and Times
In this intriguing biography, Philipp Frank provides a well-researched and impeccably thorough account of Einstein's life while simultaneously presenting an understandable explanation of the great scientist's theories and works.In this description of Einstein's family history, youth, education, and professional life, Frank comments on the personality and psychology that resulted in the theories that revolutionized the science of the twentieth century.The biography chronologically relays the major events of Einstein's life with a significant focus on the public perception of his theories and the contrast between that perception and the actual meaning of the theories.Frank conveniently glosses over events, such as Einstein's divorce, which could possibly place the scientist in an unflattering light.This factor in addition to Frank's backhanded insults directed towards any critics of Einstein serve to reveal the author's admiration of Einstein.Through the course of the book, it is clear that Frank felt compelled to clarify the positive quality of Einstein's work and personal character by depicting his life in a complementary biography.The book moves at a stop-and-go pace as Frank alternates between narrative and scientific explanation.Despite this slight sense of incomprehensibility, this biography skillfully illustrates the character and accomplishments of one of history's greatest scientists by connecting his theories with his personal experiences.Overall, this depiction of Einstein's life is as thought-provoking as it is in-depth, and it provides the reader with a sense of clarity about a topic that has been notably difficult for most people to fully understand.

Sparse on biography, a little too heavy on the science
Einstein was and still remains the most compelling figure of the 20th century.He is universally recognized as the greatest mind the world has ever known even though many of his proponents do not understand the theories that made him a public figure in the first place.Einstein: His Life and Times attempts to shed light on both the theories that created the genius and the genius that created the theories that forever altered the course of mankind.In describing Einstein's theories, Frank is more than competent as he was Einstein's successor as Professor of Theoretical Physics in Prague.There is no doubt that Frank understands the concepts articulated by his predecessor.For the lay person Frank's explanations and the prose they are written in are difficult to comprehend.To worsen the symptoms, the in depth discussion of the theories of special and general relativity, as well as the history and development of the physical sciences are laborious reads at best.Moments such as these are precisely what keeps this biography from achieving the greatness it is capable of.Frank would have served his audience better if he had trimmed the biography of some of it's theoretical "fat" and "seasoned" it with deeper insight into the humanism of it's subject.For the most part Einstein: His Life and Times was an enjoyable read, I just wish I had tried one the other Einstein biographies instead.

Einstein: His Life and Times
Einstein: His Life and Times was written by Philipp Frank, Einstein's close friend and colleague.It includes a plethora of information about Einstein's life and ideas as well as the effects of his work.The biography begins with information about Einstein's family, childhood,and early schooling along with the first signs of his interest in intellectual topics.The book discusses Einstein's personality and his relationships with others including colleagues, friends, and students.The book is not constrained to physics alone.It also goes very deep into philosophy and how philosophical ideas have shaped the world of science and physics.Besides Einstein's personal life and struggles (e.g., with anti-Semitism and finances), Philipp Frank explains Einstein's major theories (including the theory of relativity, the quantum theory, and the equivalence of mass and energy) and scientific ideas.Obviously, Einstein's theories are very complex, and even many scientists of his day could not fully comprehend them.However, Frank tries to explain these theories in terms that can be understood by most people.The book is interesting because it is not overly simple (it includes some very difficult concepts and proofs), but it isn't overly complex either.Frank covers many topics, ranging from curved space to the relativity of time to the atomic bomb.There is also lots of discussion of politics and the effect of the Nazis and World Wars on Einstein and physics.Philipp Frank has written this book for several reasons.Firstly, Einstein was a great influence on his life because they were colleagues and good friends.In addition, Einstein appointed Frank as his successor as the professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Prague.Frank must have felt extremely fortunate to be connected with a man of such intelligence and fame.Frank wants to provide the reader with his personal insights and experiences with the world's most recognized genius of the modern age.His purpose was to perhaps provide a clearer picture and understanding of this enigmatic man known as Einstein.Frank even says in the introduction, "I am writing this biography of Einstein...for people who want to understand something of the contradictory and complicated twentieth-century world....[A]nyone who comprehends even a little of Einstein's personality, his work, and its influence will have taken a long step toward [such] an understanding."Anyonewho is at all interested in Einstein's life, his ideas, or abstract concepts regarding physics and philosophy should read this book.The book is absolutely full of interesting facts, experiences, and information.I had a lot of fun reading it especially because it is suited for both the layman and the more advanced.

An Ultimate Biography
When discussing the life of Einstein it is never clear whether one's focus should be on the simple biographical facts, the scientific work or his political and social activism. This book attempts a distillation and mostly succeeds because it captures the essense of the man who was simultaneously many things - a complex, gentle person who became a persona.

For a long time he was defined by the equation E=MC2 but over time his other theoretical work has been explored (and many times dismissed) and more importantly, his early years and the ideas that emerged from that era have come more sharply into focus. The author provides a wealth of data on the European life of Einstein which is interesting in itself.

The author waxes eloquently on the non-scientific side of the man, the humanist that the world knows today. This is a beautiful, complete work covering all aspects of Einstein's life.

An Ultimate Biography
When discussing the life of Einstein it is never clear whether one's focus should be on the simple biographical facts, the scientific work or his political and social activism.This book attempts a distillation and mostly succeeds because it captures the essense of the man who was simultaneously many things -a complex, gentle person who became a persona.

For a long time he was defined by the equation E=MC2 but over time his other theoretical work has been explored (and many times dismissed) and more importantly, his early years and the ideas that emerged from that era have come more sharply into focus.The author provides a wealth of data on the European life of Einstein which is interesting in itself.

The author waxes eloquently on the non-scientific sideof the man, the humanist that that the world knows today.This is a beautiful, complete work covering all aspects of Einstein's life. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (2)

Brilliant.
Philosophers don't trust scientists, and scientists don't trust philosophers.

However this book provides a foundation for these two types of minds to meet in the middle, and better understand how the work from each side has important implications for the other.

Great discussion on science and philosophy
This book is a MUST for engineers and scientists that have not been exposed to philosophy in a formal classroom setting.Frank does a wonderful job showing how philosophy forms the underpinning for the methods and techniques in scientific discovery. ... Read more

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This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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Erfurt, Columbine, Emsdetten - diese Orte sind zum Inbegriff für "School Shootings", also Amokläufe beziehungsweise schwere Gewalttaten durch Jugendliche an Schulen geworden.

• Was haben diese Gewalttaten gemeinsam?
• Wer sind die Täter?
• Welche Rolle spielen die Medien und das gesellschaftliche Umfeld?
• Wie entwickeln die Täter ihre tödlichen Phantasien?

Frank J. Robertz und Ruben Wickenhäuser vom Berliner Institut für Gewaltprävention und angewandte Kriminologie (IGaK) tragen in diesem anwendungsorientierten Fachbuch zum Thema die unterschiedlichen Aspekte anhand bekannter Fälle zusammen: Präventionsmöglichkeiten, Einschätzung von Bedrohungen, Krisenintervention, Umgang mit traumatisierten Schulgemeinschaften und auffälligen Jugendlichen, Hilfestellungen für Lehrer, Polizisten und Eltern. Ziel ist stets die realistische Gefahreneinschätzung und -vorbeugung.

Inklusive Arbeitsmaterialien für Schulpsychologen, Krisenteams und Lehrerkollegien mit Checklisten für die Vorbereitung des Ernstfalls.

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How does one reintegrate old textile mills into the fabric of a community? At a former Leipzig cotton-spinning mill (now the site of the Federkiel Foundation), a distinguished group of architects, critics, preservationists, city planners, and artists (among them Anne Dressen and Philipp Oswalt) convened to discuss the conversion of industrial space into cultural gathering place. Chapters here cover P.S.1 in New York and MASS MoCA.Paperback, 9 x 11 in./310 pgs / 153 color and 396 b&w. ... Read more

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The Law of Causality and its Limits was a major work ofthe physicist turned philosopher, Philipp Frank. Already known for hispapers on mathematical physics, and for his collaboration with thephilosophers and scientists in the Vienna Circle, Frank developed hisearly essays of 1907--08 on causal law and human experience intothis expository and critical treatise of 1931. How useful the logicalempiricist requirement to formulate a `scientific philosophy' was, isdemonstrated by Frank's clarifications of the strengths as well aslimitations of the several concepts linked to causal explanation, andindeed by his analysis of misuse, what he called metaphysical, obscuremisinterpretations. Among the historically significant topics in thisclassical treatise on science and its humanist import are Laplace'sdeterminist hypothesis, loss of causal simplicity in field concept,causality and miracles, lawfulness in biology, cause and chance,conservation laws and causal laws, irreversibility of naturalprocesses, and `true' world. The Work is a classical treatise and therefore essential foruniversity collections in philosophy, physics and history of science.It will appeal to philosophers of science, modern empiricists,historians of science and those interested in the history of theVienna Circle. ... Read more

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This text explores the rift that is present between science in philosophy and offers suggestions on how this rift can or has been overcome. ... Read more