Frederick Charles Frank
Encyclopedia
Sir Frederick Charles Frank FRS (6 March 1911–5 April 1998) was a British
theoretical physicist
.
He was born in Durban, South Africa, although his parents returned to England soon afterwards. He was educated at Thetford Grammar School
and Ipswich School
and went on to study chemistry at Lincoln College, Oxford
, gaining a doctorate at the university's Engineering Laboratory
.
During World War II he joined the Chemical Defence Experimental Station at Porton Down
, Wiltshire but in 1940 was transferred to the Air Ministry's Assistant Directorate of Intelligence (Science) and spent the rest of the war with the Air Ministry.
After the war he moved to the University of Bristol
Physics Department to do research in solid state physics, but switched to research on crystal dislocation. His work with Burton and Cabrera was to demonstrate the role dislocations played in the growth of crystals. Apart from crystal defects, his wide-ranging research interests at Bristol included the mechanical properties of polymers, the theory of liquid crystals and the mechanics of the interior of the Earth. He was appointed Reader in 1951, Melville Wills Professor in 1954 and Henry Overton Wills Professor and Director of the H.H. Wills Physics Laboratory in 1969. He retired in 1976 but remained active in attending conferences, writing papers and corresponding with colleagues well into the 1990s.
He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1954, delivering the Bakerian Lecture
in 1973. He was knighted in 1977.
Frank is notable for having proposed the cyclol reaction
in the mid-1930s. He is distinguished for many contributions to solid state physics, geophysics
, and the theory of liquid crystals. He is best known for his work on crystal dislocation
s, including (with Thornton Read) the idea of the Frank-Read Source
of dislocations.
In 1994 he was awarded the Royal Society’s Copley Medal
, its highest honour, "in recognition of his fundamental contribution to the theory of crystal morphology, in particular to the source of dislocations and their consequences in interfaces and crystal growth; to fundamental understanding of liquid crystals and the concept of disclination; and to the extension of crystallinity concepts to aperiodic crystals."
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
theoretical physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
.
He was born in Durban, South Africa, although his parents returned to England soon afterwards. He was educated at Thetford Grammar School
Thetford Grammar School
Thetford Grammar School is an independent co-educational school in Thetford, Norfolk, England. The school traces its origins back to 631, and through its Roll of Headmasters to 1114, though it appears to have ceased from around 1496 until its refoundation from the will of Sir Richard Fulmerston in...
and Ipswich School
Ipswich School
Ipswich School is a co-educational public school for girls and boys aged 3 to 18. Situated in Suffolk, England in the town of Ipswich, it was founded in its current form as The King's School, Ipswich by Thomas Wolsey in 1528....
and went on to study chemistry at Lincoln College, Oxford
Lincoln College, Oxford
Lincoln College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is situated on Turl Street in central Oxford, backing onto Brasenose College and adjacent to Exeter College...
, gaining a doctorate at the university's Engineering Laboratory
Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford
The Department of Engineering Science is the focus of study of engineering science at Oxford University, England. It is located on the triangular plot formed by Banbury Road to the west, Parks Road to the east and Keble Road to the south. The main building is the tall 1960s Thom Building that...
.
During World War II he joined the Chemical Defence Experimental Station at Porton Down
Porton Down
Porton Down is a United Kingdom government and military science park. It is situated slightly northeast of Porton near Salisbury in Wiltshire, England. To the northwest lies the MoD Boscombe Down test range facility which is operated by QinetiQ...
, Wiltshire but in 1940 was transferred to the Air Ministry's Assistant Directorate of Intelligence (Science) and spent the rest of the war with the Air Ministry.
After the war he moved to the University of Bristol
University of Bristol
The University of Bristol is a public research university located in Bristol, United Kingdom. One of the so-called "red brick" universities, it received its Royal Charter in 1909, although its predecessor institution, University College, Bristol, had been in existence since 1876.The University is...
Physics Department to do research in solid state physics, but switched to research on crystal dislocation. His work with Burton and Cabrera was to demonstrate the role dislocations played in the growth of crystals. Apart from crystal defects, his wide-ranging research interests at Bristol included the mechanical properties of polymers, the theory of liquid crystals and the mechanics of the interior of the Earth. He was appointed Reader in 1951, Melville Wills Professor in 1954 and Henry Overton Wills Professor and Director of the H.H. Wills Physics Laboratory in 1969. He retired in 1976 but remained active in attending conferences, writing papers and corresponding with colleagues well into the 1990s.
He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1954, delivering the Bakerian Lecture
Bakerian Lecture
The Bakerian Lecture is a prize lecture of the Royal Society, a lecture on physical sciences.In 1775 Henry Baker left £100 for a spoken lecture by a Fellow on such part of natural history or experimental philosophy as the Society shall determine....
in 1973. He was knighted in 1977.
Frank is notable for having proposed the cyclol reaction
Cyclol
The cyclol hypothesis is the first structural model of a folded, globular protein. It was developed by Dorothy Wrinch in the late 1930s, and was based on three assumptions. Firstly, the hypothesis assumes that two peptide groups can be crosslinked by a cyclol reaction ; these crosslinks are...
in the mid-1930s. He is distinguished for many contributions to solid state physics, geophysics
Geophysics
Geophysics is the physics of the Earth and its environment in space; also the study of the Earth using quantitative physical methods. The term geophysics sometimes refers only to the geological applications: Earth's shape; its gravitational and magnetic fields; its internal structure and...
, and the theory of liquid crystals. He is best known for his work on crystal dislocation
Dislocation
In materials science, a dislocation is a crystallographic defect, or irregularity, within a crystal structure. The presence of dislocations strongly influences many of the properties of materials...
s, including (with Thornton Read) the idea of the Frank-Read Source
Frank-Read Source
A Frank-Read Source is a mechanism explaining the generation of multiple dislocations in specific well spaced slip planes in crystals when they are deformed. It was proposed by and named after Sir Charles Frank and Thornton Read. When a crystal is deformed, slip is found to occur only on certain...
of dislocations.
In 1994 he was awarded the Royal Society’s Copley Medal
Copley Medal
The Copley Medal is an award given by the Royal Society of London for "outstanding achievements in research in any branch of science, and alternates between the physical sciences and the biological sciences"...
, its highest honour, "in recognition of his fundamental contribution to the theory of crystal morphology, in particular to the source of dislocations and their consequences in interfaces and crystal growth; to fundamental understanding of liquid crystals and the concept of disclination; and to the extension of crystallinity concepts to aperiodic crystals."