About Ernst Mach
Ernst Waldfried Josef Wenzel Mach was an Austrian-Czech physicist and philosopher who contributed to the understanding of 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 honor. 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. Mach was also well-known for his philosophy, developed in close interplay with his science. He described how when a bullet or shell moved faster than the speed of sound, it created a compression of air in front of it. During the early 1890s, Ludwig invented a modification of the Jamin interferometer that allowed for much clearer photographs. Mach later became a socialist and an atheist, but his theory and life were sometimes compared to Buddhism.
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