Mach wave the schlieren method, to obtain data about the flow in nozzles and ducts. Mach angles may also occasionally be visualized out of their condensation in air, for example vapor cones around aircraft during transonic flight. Mach wave In fluid dynamics, a Mach wave is a pressure wave traveling with the speed of sound caused by a slight change of pressure added to a compressible flow. These weak waves can combine in supersonic flow to become a shock wave if sufficient Mach waves are present at any location. Such a shock wave is called a Mach stem or Mach front. Thus,
Ernst Mach Mach are attributed a number of principles that distill his ideal of physical theorisation—what is now called "Machian physics": The last is singled out, particularly by Albert Einstein, as "the" Mach's principle. Einstein cited it as one of the three principles underlying general relativity. In 1930, he stated that "it is justified to consider Mach as the precursor of the general theory of relativity", though Mach, before his death, would apparently reject Einstein's theory. Einstein was aware that his theories did not fulfill all Mach's principles, and no subsequent theory has either, despite considerable effort. According to Alexander Riegler, Ernst