Ernst Mach
1838 – 1916
Studied shock waves; the speed-of-sound ratio is named for him.
An Austrian physicist and philosopher, Mach studied supersonic projectiles and shock waves in the 1880s, photographing the cones that now bear his name. His skeptical philosophy of science also shaped the young Einstein.
The Mach number — speed relative to the speed of sound — is his. Every compressible-flow and airspeed tool here is counted in Mach's units.
Portrait: a stylized blueprint-line rendering, not a photograph.
Contributions in the toolbox
- 1887
Schlieren photograph of a bullet's shock wave.
→ Normal Shock Relations - 1887
Photographs supersonic shock waves; identifies the speed ratio.
→ Mach Number from Airspeed & Altitude - 1887
Photographs shock waves; the sonic ratio gets its physics.
→ Speed Converter