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Mach Bands
Today we consider Mach bands as an optical illusion that was named after the physicist Ernst Mach. It uses our visual system in the back of our eye to filter out two different gradient colors next to each other. To put it simple it enhances the edge of a dark object to be lighter and the edge of a light object to be darker. Optical illusions at first were considered to be errors in judgement that differed between each person. After Ernst Mach made his discovery it changed theories of perception- -
Supersonic Motion
Ernst Mach was one of the first scientist to study supersonic flow. In 1887 Ernst Mach published a shadowgraph image of shock waves created by the bullet of a gun going faster than the speed of sound. The image was proven to be out of this world because at the time there was no high speed photography. After learning that an object can travel faster than the speed of sound the term "Mach speed" was coined and used as a scientific number. 1 mach speed ≈ 768 miles per hour. -
The analysis of sensations
In 1897 Ernst Mach published a book over "The analysis of sensations". In this book Ernst Mach wrote how complexes of an individual are connected in time and space. Other scientist claim this book was greatly used to propose the Gestalt Theory which describes how "the whole of anything is bigger than the parts that make it up". -
Machs Principle
One of the most influential works of Ernst Mach would be Mach's principle. Machs Principle explained that the inertial forces experienced by a object in non-uniformed motion are determined by the quantity and distribution of matter in the universe. This was important because it helped shape future scientific theories. Albert Einstein went on to use Machs principle while working on general relativity. -
Book Citations
Mach, Ernst. The Science of Mechanics: A Critical Account of Its Development. Open Court, 1974. Mach, Ernst, 1838-1916. The Analysis of Sensations and the Relation of the Physical to the Psychical. Open Court, 1897.