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Doppler Effect
Mach contributed to the Doppler's law by writing an analysis in which he applied Doppler's law to determine the elative velocity of fixed stars. His experiments even led to the first photographs, which would capture shock waves created by a supersonic bullet. His experimental work focused on the properties of waves in light, and the doppler effect in light and sound. -
Mach Bands
Ernst was working as a professor when he came up with the idea of Mach bands. He discovered that there are dark bands on outer edges of a gradient and light bands on the inner edges. He believed this to be an optical illusion, which went against theory of perception well known and accepted at the time. -
The Vestibular system
Mach, along with a physician Dr, Breuer; discovered a structure inside the inner ear. This structure was responsible for balance. His experiments were mainly psychophysical. Unlike what most believed, he concluded that the stimulus for the semicircular canals was pressure. His evidence went against the endolymph flow theory at the time. -
Mach's Principle
Mach's Principle relates an object's inertial mass to distant masses because the acceleration being resisted is the object's change in velocity relative to the distant masses. This theory led to understanding the speed of sound and projectile speeds. Einstein used this to create his Theory of Relativity. Reference this YouTube video to learn more about Mach's Principle. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0RuZb1yhpA