Science of Mechanics

by Ernst Mach

-From the Introduction by Karl Menger "Ernst Mach's book..., one of the great scientific achievements of the last century, remains a model for the presentation of the development of ideas in any field.... It is an inspiration to philosophers of science, a valuable source of information for historians of physics, and a splendid help to teachers of mechanics. Its first half is a most stimulating introduction of unsurpassed clarity and depth for beginners."

Genres: Science, Physics, History, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Mathematics

Paperback

First published January 1, 1883

About the author

Ernst Mach was an Austrian physicist and philosopher and is the namesake for the "Mach number" (also known as Mach speed) and the optical illusion known as Mach bands.

Reviews

[Douglas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok physics buffs! This is a hard book, kinda like physics bootcamp. But you'll be better for it--especially the young 'uns. I slugged it out with it under professorial supervision when I was an undergraduate over 30 years ago. Not that I was all that good a physics student, doing well on examinations and churning out reams of completed problem sets. Frankly, that was quite boring and I wonder that anyone could really love physics after several years of such drudgery. Perhaps that is why Americans have shied away from the subject in recent decades? Perhaps it is also the reason those nations whose ancient ancestors' success was determined by difficult imperial examinations are currently dominant in the field now? If Americans ever want to apply their native inventiveness and regain lost ground in physics, this is the book to start with. But find someone to read it with for maximum benefit.

[Andrew Noselli · Rating 3 out of 5]

From my rather shallow and, I admit, not very facile mathematically, understanding of the history of science, as related this treatise of Ernst Mach's which dated from 1905, I understand that time as a unit of experimental measurement was introduced by Galileo, who first postulated the acceleration of bodies and extemporized the laws of motion which were based on his observations. In the next stage, it was Sir Isaac Newton who used time to extrapolate his scientific philosophy, setting down the laws of gravity which were to extend even to the celestial bodies in the heavens. Newton would proceed to lay down the laws of thermodynamics, which stipulated that the motion of gases could not be determined by the classical laws of mechanics but were determined on the basis of their specific heat. Although Mach's book was published the same year as Einstein's "miracle year" of 1905, it would fall to Albert's special theory of relativity, which came out in 1915, in which he would elucidate the relationship between energy, time and mass - a theory which would puzzle scientists and laymen alike for one hundred years - this relationship that was not static as according to mechanical principles, either, but was as fluid and dynamic at the speed of light, insofar as time and light could be said to blur their properties into a shared status where they were no longer separate phenomena that could be perceived by an observer. Three stars.

[Michal Paszkiewicz · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read that exposes how Mach changed his book 'Mechanics'. All of the modifications and additions are interesting and expose a lot of thought added to the project.

The edition of the book isn't particularly nice. I wouldn't have minded the photocopied pages so much if the blurb didn't claim it had no photocopies.

[Ami Iida · Rating 4 out of 5]

it is written about power .