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Ernst Mach (February 18, 1838 – February 19, 1916)
Ernst Mach's Band Theory was the discovery of an optical illusion created by the eye. Basically, the eye takes objects of similar color gradient and creates distinct borders around the edges. Darker objects have lighter “bands” around the edge, while lighter objects have darker “bands” around the edge. This is used significantly today in radiology. His work on this can be found in his book "The Principles of Physical Optics". Citations are in the assignment text box. -
Ernst Mach- empiricist Ernst Mach (February 18, 1838 – February 19, 1916)
Ernst Mach was the first to identify the function of the labyrinth of the inner ear. There are semicircular canals in the ear that hold endolymph fluid and have no function in the hearing process. These fluid filled canals are how we perceive motion. Mach also discovered that humans can only perceive acceleration and deceleration but not constant velocity. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMIMvBa8XGs -
Ernst Mach- empiricist Ernst Mach (February 18, 1838 – February 19, 1916
One of Mach’s contributions to physics was the development of the principles of supersonic and the mach number. Mach is the ratio of the velocity of an object to the velocity of sound. A Mach number more than 1 is considered supersonic and is faster than the speed of sound, producing visible shock waves. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlaGxYjnoPY -
Ernst Mach- empiricist Ernst Mach (February 18, 1838 – February 19, 1916)
Mach was an empiricist who advanced the field of psychology by theorizing the concept that all knowledge is derived from sensation. The Gestalt theory was formed from some of his ideas. Mach believed that sensations were not just raw experiences but the interaction of an experience with a formed cognitive structure. Space, time, color, sound, etc. are just as much a part of our inner experience as they were a part of the external physical world.