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Scientist

Josef Lense

1890-1985 · General Relativity, Astrophysics, Mathematics
Austrian physicist and mathematician, co-author of the Lense–Thirring effect — the prediction of the dragging of inertial reference frames by a rotating massive body in general relativity.

Biography

Born in Vienna. Studied at the University of Vienna, where he later became a professor of mathematics. In 1918, together with Hans Thirring, published a paper on the influence of rotating massive bodies on spacetime metric. Worked in the field of differential geometry and mathematical physics.

Key discoveries

💡 The effect was long considered too small to measure, but was confirmed by the Gravity Probe B satellite in 2004.
Concepts
spacetime curvaturegravityblack hole
Laws
Lense–Thirring effect
Scientists
Robert HookeFritz ZwickyJacob BekensteinSubrahmanyan ChandrasekharRainer WeissStephen HawkingKarl SchwarzschildJoseph Weber

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