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1855 - Where It Began
Ernst Mach entered the University of Vienna in 1855 at just 17 years old. He was very interested in both the subjects of math and physics. His courses were very difficult considering they contained preliminary information that was not available in any textbooks and there were no preliminary classes available at that time. He had to spend his monthly allowance on a tutor, and he had self-taught himself in order to keep up with his courses. -
1860's - Mach Bands
Mach bands, also known as lateral inhibition, explain an optical illusion discovered by physicist Ernst Mach. The purpose of lateral inhibition is to illustrate edge detection. Edge detection simply means to be able to differentiate where one object ends and another begins. The ‘’bands’’ in Mach bands do not really exist, just an illusion to the human eye. -
1883 Mach's Principle
Mach’s Principle states that all the laws of physics are determined by the global distribution of matter. It is equivalent to postulating that the local inertial frame, and the inertia of any body within it, are determined by the overall distribution of matter in the Universe as a whole. (Astronomy, 2019) Ernst Mach wrote The Science of Mechanics. This inspired Albert Einstein to question the relationship of absolute space and time. (Annila, 2012) -
1887 - Mach Speed
Ernst Mach was the first person to develop a way for visualizing the flow passing over an object at supersonic speeds and to understand the fundamental principles that govern supersonic flow and what impacts they have on aerodynamics. (aerospaceweb.org) He presented a paper titled ‘’ Photographische Fixierung der durch Projektile in der Luft eingeleiten Vorgange’’ (which translates to Photographic Fixation of the Processes Initiated by Projectil...
