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Mach's Bands
Ernst Mach had a very large footprint in science and his name is used in many things from biology to physics. One of his contributions was the physiological phenomenon that became known as Mach's bands. Mach's bands is when the human eyes sees sharper differences between light and dark colors near the boundaries. -
Mach's Philosophy
Much like Kopp and his falsifiability Mach felt that all knowledge is derived from sensation. He believed that no scientific statement was acceptable unless it was empirically verifiable. This led Mach to reject infinite time and space and was the stepping stone for Einsteins relativity theory. -
Mach Number
Ernst Mach established the principles of supersonics and the Mach number. He is responsible for all those speed devils who say they went Mach 3 in their jet. What they are really talking about is the ratio of their velocity to the velocity of sound. And when they go too fast they go faster then sound and create a sonic boom, another thing studied and credited to Mach. -
Nature of Scientific Change
Mach believed that knowledge, ideas, and scientific variation were hereditary. Much like Darwinian evolution, natural variation led to an increased knowledge base. He didn't reject nonscientific beliefs but tolerated them because he knew that it is possible that some things night be true that cant be proven yet. Although he was also known for requiring strict evidence for scientific discoveries.
