Ernst Mach
Ernst Waldfried Josef Wenzel Mach (/mɑːx/ MAHKH, German: [ɛʁnst ˈmax]; 18 February 1838 – 19 February 1916) was a Czech physicist and philosopher, who contributed to the physics of shock waves. The ratio of the speed of a flow or object to that of sound is named the Mach number in his honour. As a philosopher of science, he was a major influence on logical positivism and American pragmatism. Through his criticism of Isaac Newton's theories of space and time, he foreshadowed Albert Einstein's theory of relativity.
Ernst Mach | |
|---|---|
| Born | Ernst Waldfried Josef Wenzel Mach 18 February 1838 Brno, Moravia, Austrian Empire |
| Died | 19 February 1916 (aged 78) Vaterstetten, Bavaria, German Empire |
| Citizenship | Moravian |
| Education | University of Vienna (PhD, 1860; Dr. phil. hab, 1861) |
| Known for | Mach band Mach diamonds Mach number Mach reflection Mach wave Mach's principle Criticism of Newton's bucket argument Empirio-criticism Oblique effect Relationalism Shock waves Stereokinetic stimulus |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physicist |
| Institutions | University of Graz Charles-Ferdinand University (Prague) University of Vienna |
| Thesis | Über elektrische Ladungen und Induktion (1860) |
| Doctoral advisor | Andreas von Ettingshausen |
| Doctoral students | Heinrich Gomperz Ottokar Tumlirz |
| Other notable students | Andrija Mohorovičić |
| Signature | |
| Notes | |
He was the godfather of Wolfgang Pauli. The Mach–Zehnder interferometer is named after his son Ludwig Mach, who was also a physicist. | |
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