Jakob Ackeret
1898 – 1981
Supersonic aerodynamicist; coined the Mach number.
A Swiss aerodynamicist, Ackeret coined the term 'Mach number' in 1929 and pioneered supersonic wind-tunnel testing, work that made high-speed flight designable.
The Mach and compressible-flow tools here use the number he named. He built some of the first supersonic tunnels in Europe.
Portrait: a stylized blueprint-line rendering, not a photograph.
Contributions in the toolbox
- 1929
Names the Mach number.
→ Mach Number from Airspeed & Altitude - 1929
Nautical mile fixed at 1852 m; 'Mach number' named.
→ Speed Converter