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Birth
Ernst Waldfried Josef Wenzel Mach was born on 18 February 1838 in Brno, Austrian Empire (present-day Czech Republic). Mach and his family moved to a farm in Lower Austria when he was two years old. His father was a high school teacher, so Mach was home-schooled until the age of 14. Mach's interests in the sciences, particularly in physics and mathematics, showed from an early age, and he attended the University of Vienna at age 17. -
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University of Vienna
In 1855, at the age of 17, Mach attended the University of Vienna. There he studied physics and for one-semester medical physiology. He received his doctorate in physics in 1860. -
Mach Bands
Mach bands are an optical illusion. It amplifies the contrast between edges of the different shades of gray when they contact one another by triggering edge-detection in the human eye. He continued his research to develop what became known today as the Gestalt Theory. The Analysis of Sensations and the Relation of the Physical to the Psychical. Trans. by C. M. Williams, La Salle: Open Court, 1984. -
Doppler Theory
Ernst Mach's early scientific work was to the Doppler Effect that Christian Doppler originally worked on in 1841. By 1885 Ernst had developed details of supersonic motion and is considered responsible for the Doppler Effect theory to this day. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy -
Mach Numbers
In 1887, Mach built the foundation of supersonics and developed the Mach number, which is the ratio of the velocity of an object to the velocity of sound. Which we commonly use to describe the speed of fighter jets. YouTube - Flying Basics: What Is "Mach"? Why Is It So Important? -
Death
Ernst Mach died at the age of 78 on 19 February 1916 in Munich, Germany. Ernst Mach | Biography & Facts | Britannica