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By Ernst Mach - The Science of Mechanics: A Critical and Historical Account of It (6th Edition) (1989-01-03) [Paperback]
Excerpt from The Science of A Critical and Historical Account of Its Development The first edition of the English translation by Mr M'Cormack of Mach's Mechanics was published in 1893, ant was carefully revised by Professor Mach himself. Since then two other editions of this translation have appeared, in which the alterations contained in the successive German editions have been embodied in the form of appendices. In the seventh German edition, however, which appeared at Leipsic (F. A, Brockbaus) in 1912, there have been more profound modifications in the plan of Professor Mach's work, which are shortly referred to in the preface to that edition. Many things are added and some things are omitted. Among the parts omitted are the prefaces to all of the German editions except the first, and a new preface to the seventh edition has been added. The most extensive additions relate to recent historical researches on the work of Galileo's precursors and the early work of Galileo himself; and the book is dedicated to the late Emil Wohlwill, of whose researches much use has been made. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
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First published January 1, 1883
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About the author
Ernst Mach
90Ìýbooks57ÌýfollowersErnst 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.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 3, 2015
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.
August 1, 2024
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.
August 20, 2021
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.
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.
October 29, 2019
it is written about power .
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
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