In human thermodynamics, William Suddards Franklin (1863-1930), commonly cited as “W.S. Franklin”, was an American electrical engineer and physicist noted for []
Overview
In 1903, Franklin, in his “The Misuse of Physics by Biologists and Engineers”, waded into the famous “What is Entropy Debate?” ; the following seems to be his first point of attack:
“Swinburne believes, apparently, that the precise ideas and methods of thermodynamics are unconditionally applicable to irreversible processes in general. I do not agree with him in this, and I do not think that the legitimacy and precision of the accepted ideas of thermodynamics especially as represented in the writings of Willard Gibbs can be questioned; but I do think that the notions of thermodynamics are precisely applicable to those types of irreversible processes which constitute permanently varying states, and approximately applicable to those irreversible processes which involve either approximate states of thermal equilibrium or approximately permanent states of variation.”
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In 1910, Franklin, in his “Entropy and Time”, according to Gilbert Lewis, was the first to differentiate between simple reversible processes and irreversible phenomena. [1]
In 1924, Franklin, in his “The Quantum Puzzle and Time”, stated the following: [2]
"The law of increase of entropy and our intuition of time unquestionably grow out of the same condition in nature."
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Education
Franklin, according to a well-written biography by Gibbs’ protégé Edwin Wilson, completed his BS (1887) and MS (1888) at the University of Kansas, during which time he showed such exceptional ability in mathematics and physics that he became an instructor of physics in his second undergraduate year; following his graduation he served three years as assistant professor of physics. For the year 1890-1891 he studied at the University of Berlin (see: Berlin school) with Hermann Helmholtz, Max Planck, and August Kundt. During 1891 to 1892, he was a Morgan Fellow at Harvard University. While professor of physics and electrical engineering at Iowa State College (1892-1897), he studied further at Cornell University, completed his ScD there in 1901. He was professor of physics and electrical engineering at Lehigh University from 1807 to 1903 and professor of physics 1903 to 1915; subsequently he was lecturer in physic at Columbia University (1917-1929), lecturer and professor of physics at MIT (1915-1929), lecturer at Harvard University (1917-1925), and visiting professor at Rollins College from 1929 till his end. [3]
References
1. (a) Franklin, W.S. (1910). “Entropy and Time”, Physical Review, 30:776.
(b) Lewis, Gilbert N. (1925). The Anatomy of Science (pg. 144-45). Silliman Lectures; Yale University Press, 1926.
2. Franklin, W.S. (1924). “The Quantum Puzzle and Time”, Science, 60:258.
(b) Lillie, R.S. (1931). “Types of Physical Determination and the Activities of Living Organisms” (abs), The Journal of Philosophy, 28(21):561-.
3. Wilson, Edwin B. (1944). “Williams Suddards Franklin (1863-1930)” (abs), Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 75(6): 162-64.
4. Franklin, William F. (1903). “The Misuse of Physics by Biologists and Engineers” (abs), paper read before the American Physical Society, Oct 31; in: Science, New Series, 18(464):641-57.
Further reading
● Franklin, William S. and MacNutt, Barry. (1908). The Elements of Mechanics: a textbook for Colleges and Technical Schools. The Macmillan Company.
● Franklin, W.S. (1910). “The Second Law of Thermodynamics: its Basis in Intuition and Common Sense”, Popular Science Monthly, Mar.
External links
● Franklin, W.S. – WorldCat Identities.
