mach

[mahk] /mɑk/

noun

a number indicating the ratio of the speed of an object to the speed of sound in the medium through which the object is moving.

Abbreviation: M.

Also, Mach.

Also called mach number, Mach number.

Origin

after E. Mach

Mach

[mahk; German mahkh] /mɑk; German mɑx/

noun

Ernst

[ernst] /ɛrnst/ (Show IPA), 1838–1916, Austrian physicist, psychologist, and philosopher.

mach.

machine.

machinery.

machinist.

British Dictionary definitions for mach

Mach¹

/mæk/

noun

short for Mach number

Mach²

/German max/

noun

Ernst (ɛrnst). 1838–1916, Austrian physicist and philosopher. He devised the system of speed measurement using the Mach number. He also founded logical positivism, asserting that the validity of a scientific law is proved only after empirical testing

Word Origin and History for mach

Mach

measure of speed relative to the speed of sound (technically Mach number), 1937, named in honor of Austrian physicist Ernst Mach (1838-1916).

mach in Science

Mach

(mäk, mäKH)
Austrian physicist and philosopher who experimented with supersonic projectiles and the flow of gases, obtaining early photographs of shock waves and gas jets. His work laid an important foundation for later developments in the science of projectiles and aeronautical design, and the Mach number and Mach bands were named for him.

mach in Technology

An operating system kernel under development at Carnegie-Mellon University to support distributed and parallel computation. Mach is designed to support computing environments consisting of networks of uniprocessors and multiprocessors. Mach is the kernel of the OSF/1.

Related Abbreviations for mach

mach.

machine
machinery
machinist