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Ernst Waldfried Josef Wenzel Mach was born on February 18th, 1838 in Chirlitz, now part of the city Brno in the Czech Republic.
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Mach received his doctorate in physics in 1860.
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Taught mechanics and physics in Vienna until 1864, when he became professor of mathematics at the University of Graz.
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Discovered the physiological phenomenon that has come to be called Mach’s bands, the tendency of the human eye to see bright or dark bands near the boundaries between areas of sharply differing illumination.
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Developed optical and photographic techniques for the measurement of sound waves and wave propagation.
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Established the principles of supersonics and the Mach number—the ratio of the velocity of an object to the velocity of sound.
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Returned to the University of Vienna as professor of inductive philosophy in 1895
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Ernst Mach dies