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Birth
Born on 18 February 1838 in Chirlitz-Turas, Moravia Austrian empire, now Brno-Chrlice, Czech Republic. (Pojman) -
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Ernst Mach's Life, birthday and Childhood
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University begins
The 17-year-old Mach begins his attendance at the University of Vienna. Painting by Ferstel in 1884. (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica). -
Doctoral recipient
Mach receives his doctorate after only 5 years in Vienna. (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica). -
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Mach's Principle
Mach also proposed a principle, later to be called Mach’s Principle, that inertia results from a relationship of that object with all the rest of the matter in the universe. (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica).
Mach's Principle -
Mach bands
Ernst Mach found out, through his physiology experiments of sensation, the tendency of the human eye to see bright or dark bands near the boundaries between areas of sharply differing illumination that has come to be called Mach Bands (Kingdom) -
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Professor of Experimental Physics
Mach became the professor of experimental physics at Charles University in Prague in 1867 where he remained for 28 years. (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica). -
Paper published on sound barrier
Mach’s paper in the field of supersonic velocity was published and, “correctly describes the sound effects observed during the supersonic motion of a projectile. Mach deduced and experimentally confirmed the existence of a shock acoustic wave which has the form of a cone with the projectile at the apex. The ratio of the speed v/c is now called the Mach number. It plays a crucial role in aerodynamics and hydrodynamics. (Podolsky) -
Contributions to the Analysis of Sensations
'Contributions to the Analysis of the Sensations' published where Mach advanced the concept that “all knowledge is derived from sensation; thus, phenomena under scientific investigation can be understood only in terms of experiences, or sensations, observed.” This led to a strict position in which no account of a statement is admissible unless empirically verifiable paving the way for Einstein’s Theory of Relativity (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica). -
Death
He died on 19 February 1916 in Haar, Germany living 78 years almost exactly. (Pojman)
