Ernst Mach
Ernst Waldfried Josef Wenzel Mach entered the world on the 18th of February 1838 in Chrlice, a village within the Austrian Empire. This location now sits inside Brno, the capital of the Czech Republic. His father Jan Nepomuk Mach worked as a tutor for the noble Brethon family in Zlín. The grandfather Wenzl Lanhaus managed the Chirlitz estate and built streets there. These early activities influenced Ernst's later theoretical work. Some records list his birthplace as Tuřany instead. It was at Tuřany that Peregrin Weiss baptized him. He grew up educated by his parents until age fourteen. Then he attended a gymnasium in Kroměříž for three years.
Mach focused his research on shock waves created by projectiles moving faster than sound. He and Peter Salcher presented their findings to the scientific community in 1887. Their paper described how a bullet creates a compression of air ahead of it. They used schlieren photography to capture images of these invisible waves. Ludwig Mach invented a modified Jamin interferometer during the early 1890s. This device produced much clearer photographs of the shadows cast by the waves. A historic image from 1887 shows a bow shockwave around a supersonic bullet fired from a Werndl carbine. The ratio of fluid speed to local sound speed is now called the Mach number. This parameter remains critical for describing high-speed movement in aerodynamics today.
Philipp Frank attributed a specific verbal form to Mach regarding inertia. He stated that when a subway jerks, the fixed stars throw you down. This idea became known as the Mach principle. It suggests that inertia arises from the distribution of matter in the universe. Einstein cited this concept as one of three principles underlying general relativity. In 1930, Einstein wrote that Mach was the precursor to the general theory of relativity. Einstein claimed he read Mach's work with eagerness before finding his own solution. He noted that very possibly he would not have come to the solution without those studies. Mach apparently rejected Einstein's theory before his death. No subsequent theory has fulfilled all of Mach's original principles.
Mach developed a phenomenalistic philosophy called empirio-criticism between 1895 and 1901. He held a chair for the history and philosophy of inductive sciences at the University of Vienna during this time. His view recognized only sensations as real things. This position seemed incompatible with the existence of atoms and molecules as external entities. Ludwig Boltzmann gave a lecture at the Imperial Academy of Science in Vienna in 1897. Mach responded by saying he did not believe that atoms exist. Lenin later criticized Machism in his 1908 work Materialism and Empirio-criticism. The philosopher argued that Mach's views led to solipsism. He also accused Mach of plagiarizing George Berkeley's ideas on the basis of these sensations.
Josef Breuer discovered how the sense of balance functions independently alongside Mach in 1873. They traced its management to information from fluid movement in the semicircular canals of the inner ear. Friedrich Goltz had discovered the role of the three semicircular canals in 1870. However, Goltz did not explain how the apparatus actually functioned. Mach devised a swivel chair to test his theories about motion perception. Floyd Ratliff suggested this experiment paved the way to Mach's critique of absolute space. The spinning chair allowed him to investigate the experience of motion directly. This physiological research formed a key part of his broader scientific contributions.
Psychologists remember Mach for an optical illusion known as Mach bands. The effect exaggerates contrast between edges of slightly differing shades of gray upon contact. It triggers edge-detection within the human visual system. Mach made the distinction between physiological spaces and geometrical spaces more clearly than anyone before or since. His views on mediating structures inspired B.F. Skinner's strongly inductive position. Skinner paralleled Mach's approach in the field of psychology. These findings remain central to understanding sensory perception today. The exaggerated contrast appears immediately when two shades meet.
Continue Browsing
Common questions
When and where was Ernst Mach born?
Ernst Waldfried Josef Wenzel Mach entered the world on the 18th of February 1838 in Chrlice, a village within the Austrian Empire. This location now sits inside Brno, the capital of the Czech Republic.
What is the origin of the term Mach number?
The ratio of fluid speed to local sound speed is now called the Mach number after physicist Ernst Mach. This parameter remains critical for describing high-speed movement in aerodynamics today.
How did Einstein view the work of Ernst Mach regarding general relativity?
Einstein cited the concept known as the Mach principle as one of three principles underlying general relativity. In 1930, Einstein wrote that Mach was the precursor to the general theory of relativity.
Why did Lenin criticize the philosophy of Ernst Mach?
Lenin later criticized Machism in his 1908 work Materialism and Empirio-criticism because he argued that Mach's views led to solipsism. He also accused Mach of plagiarizing George Berkeley's ideas on the basis of these sensations.
What physiological discovery did Ernst Mach make about balance?
Josef Breuer discovered how the sense of balance functions independently alongside Ernst Mach in 1873. They traced its management to information from fluid movement in the semicircular canals of the inner ear.