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Early Life (1838 - 1855)
Ernst Mach was born on February 18th, 1838 in once the famous Austrian Empire, modern day Czech Republic. He was educated by his parents for the first 14 years of his life. His father was a private tutor who helped teach a noble family that lived in the region. His mother was into the humanities, having a love for music and poetry. At age 15 Ernst Mach was put in a Gymnasium, a sort of prep school to help one succeed in college. He studied there for three years developing a passion for physics. -
Scientific Roots (1855-1867)
Mach was accepted at the University of Vienna in 1855. His courses he took were mainly physics, philosophy and mathematics. He continued to specialize in physics throughout his studies and in 1860 he ended up receiving his doctorate in the field [1]. Mach's early career started from here. His initial research where focused around the Doppler effect, specifically in how interacts with optics and acoustics. After years of changing universities, in 1867 he settled at Charles University [1]. -
Crossing over into Philosophy
Ernst laid out his ground in gestalt psychology with his book "Analysis of Sensations". Gestalt which comes from German is interpreted as "pattern" or "configuration" [2]. "Gestalt psychologists believed that organisms perceive entire patterns or configurations, not merely individual components" [2]. Another way that it can be put is "the whole is more than the sum of its parts" [2]. Gestalt psychology became huge in the early 20th century. -
Mach's Number
Ernst Mach was the first to successfully photograph a picture of a shockwave in front of an object moving faster than the speed of sound. To understand Mach's Number watch click on the link below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlaGxYjnoPY -
Mach's Philosophy of Phenomenalism
"A philosophical theory of perception and the external world. Its essential tenet is that propositions about material objects are reducible to propositions about actual and possible sensations, or sense data, or appearances" [5]. Mach didn't want to build a theory of knowing everything but instead he was aiming to bridge the gap between "the science of inorganic matter and the science of psychic activities" [6]. -
Death and Contributions
Ernst Mach died of heart disease on the 19th of February 1916 in Haar, Germany. His contributions lead to many new insights to physics and philosophy. He left behind a legacy that has impacted some of the most influential figures in the 20th century. -
Mach's Principle
"Mach’s principle is the hypothesis that the inertial forces experienced by a body in nonuniform motion are determined by the quantity and distribution of matter in the universe." [3]. A simplified way to understand this principle is, "local physical laws are determined by the large-scale structure of the universe" [4]. Einstein was influenced by Ernst Mach, in fact Mach's Principle and Mach's Number was named by Einstein himself. -
Sources
Located in submission text.
