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Ernst Mach (February 18, 1838 - February 19, 1916)

By pkrodriguez2006

  • Born February 18, 1838

    Born February 18, 1838
    Ernst Mach, born Ernst Waldfried Josef Wenzel Mach, was born in an Austrian town now known as Brno Czech Republic.

  • Education

    Education
    For much of his life, Mach was home schooled. His higher education included the University of Vienna where he studied physics and medical physiology. He received his doctorate in physics in 1860

  • Early Career

    Early Career
    Much of the work Mach did early on consisted of the Doppler effect in optics. He had turned down a Chair position in Surgery to pursue his career in physics and accepted a position as a math professor instead. In 1867 he accepted a Chair position in Experimental Physics at Charles-Ferdinand University. It was here that he conducted studies of kinesthetic sensation, the feeling of movement with acceleration.

  • Developments

    In 1873 he developed optic and photographic techniques to measure sound waves. His main contribution in physics were his descriptions and photographs of spark shock-waves and ballistic shock-waves. He described the compression of air that is created in front of a bullet as it moves faster than the speed of sound. He was also able to photograph the shadows of the invisible shock waves.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLrHnndL3D4

  • Mach number

    In 1887, Mach created the principles of supersonics and the Mach Number, the ratio of the velocity of an object to the velocity of sound.

  • Mach's Principle

    In 1897, Mach created the physical principle, Mach's principle, that inertia results from a relationship of that object with all the rest of the matter in the universe.

  • Retirement

    in 1895, Mach returned to the University of Vienna as a professor. He retired after having a stroke in 1901.

  • Death

    In 1916, Ernst Mach died near Munich. “Ernst Mach (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy).” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 3 Mar. 2019, plato.stanford.edu/entries/ernst-mach. Famous Scientists. “Ernst Mach - Biography, Facts and Pictures.” Famous Scientists, 19 Nov. 2017, www.famousscientists.org/ernst-mach. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Ernst Mach | Biography & Facts.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 15 Feb. 2021, www.britannica.com/biography/Ernst-Mach.