The writings of Austrian physicist and philosopher Ernst Mach did much to establish a scientific methodology that paved the way for the theory of relativity. His outstanding work in ballistics contributed greatly to the theory of flight.
Ernst Mach (1838-1916), Austrian physicist and philosopher, born in Turany (now in the Czech Republic), and educated at Vienna University. He served as professor successively at the universities of Graz, Prague, and Vienna from 1864 to 1901, when he retired from academic life. Mach felt that science should restrict itself to the description of phenomena that could be perceived by the senses. His writings did much to free science from metaphysical concepts and helped to establish a scientific methodology that paved the way for the theory of relativity. He studied the psychological phenomena of sensation and perceptions, and his outstanding work in ballistics contributed greatly to the theory of flight. The Mach number, which represents the ratio of the speed of an object to the speed of sound in the atmosphere, was named for him. See Aerodynamics; Fluid Mechanics.
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