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Birth
Ernst Waldfried Josef Wenzel Mach was born on February 18th, 1838 in Chirlitz, now part of the city Brno in the Czech Republic. -
Period: to
Studies
1860: Doctorate in physics, teaching mechanics and physics in Vienna.
1864: Professor of mathematics at the University of Graz. Discovering the physiological phenomenon that has come to be called Mach’s bands.
1867: Became professor of experimental physics at Charles University in Prague for 28 years.
1873 - 1893: Developed optical and photographic techniques for the measurement of sound waves and wave propagation.
1887: Established the principles of supersonics and the Mach number. -
Greatest Achievements
https://youtu.be/rtcUS4WWCAk
The best-known of Mach’s ideas is the “Mach’s principle,”which details the physical origin of inertia. “Mach’s principle” explains the phenomenon of inertia by assuming that all of the masses in the universe are somehow connected. Local inertial frames are affected by the cosmic motion and distribution of all matter. Mach’s inertial theories were named by Einstein as one of the influences for his theories of relativity. -
Publications
His most important publication was “The Science of Mechanics: A Critical and Historical Account of Its Development” which details the fundamentals of mechanics and gives an insight into his scientific reasoning process. Mach, Ernst. The Science of Mechanics: A Critical and Historical Account of Its Development. Publication date: 1893 Mach, Ernst. The Analysis of Sensations. Publication date: 1897 Mach, Ernst. Popular Scientific Lectures. Publication date: 1895 -
Death
In 1901 he retired from the University of Vienna and was appointed to the upper chamber of the Austrian parliament. His autobiography was published in 1910. On leaving Vienna in 1913 he moved to his son’s home in Vaterstetten, near Munich, where he continued writing and corresponding until his death on February 19th, 1916.
