Ernst Mach Ernst Mach Ernst Waldfried Josef Wenzel Mach (; ; 18 February 1838 – 19 February 1916) was an Austrian physicist and philosopher, noted for his contributions to physics such as study of shock waves. The ratio of one's speed to that of sound is named the Mach number in his honor. As a philosopher of science, he was a major influence on logical positivism and American pragmatism. Through his criticism of Newton's theories of space and time, he foreshadowed Einstein's theory of relativity. Ernst Waldfried Josef Wenzel Mach was born in Chrlice (), Moravia (then in the Austrian empire, now
Mach: The First Colony Mach: The First Colony Mach: The First Colony is a role-playing game published by Alliance Publications in 1983. "Mach: The First Colony" is a science-fiction system in which the players are mercenaries on a frontier planet. The planet, its societies, and mixed technologies are described in detail. The first book (32 pages) covers character creation and combat; the second (32 pages) covers skills and creatures. The game includes an introductory scenario (16 pages). "Mach: The First Colony" was designed by Michael Lange with Martin Miller, and published by Alliance Publications in 1983 as a boxed set containing a 32-page book,