IMGr6

Ernst Mach

rcady dcvelopcd strong intcrcst in mathcmntics and thc mathematical scicnccs inllucnccd him mercly to try to endurc and survivc thc rest of his acadcmic subjeets. “My dislikc of thc language disciplincs and especially grammar had the result th.it in spite of considcrablc flucncy in rcading thc ancicnt authors I bccamc only an avcragc student.”³⁰ “Ali in all, I can only say that thc dircction of my lifc had alrcady bccn determined bcforc I entered thc public Gymnasium. I felt opprcsscd by thc school and treated it mercly as an obstaclc, while on thc other hand, I must havc scemcd likc an ungratcful objcct of their cndcavors to my tcachcrs.” ³⁷

After two ycars Mach graduated and rcccivcd his Matura but dc-cidcd not to cmigrate to America. Shortly afterward, his father sold their housc in Untcrsicbcnbrunn and with thc moncy bought a farm in what is now thc northwestern part of Yugoslavia whcrc hc strugglcd for scvcral years to raisc oakicaf-cating silkworms. Unfortunatcly, thc quality of silk was poor and thcrc was no market. As a result, thc farm went evcr decpcr into debt. Joscphinc Mach died in 1869, and Johann Nepomuk Mach, tutor cxtraordinary, but stubborn and visionary to the last, died on Deccmber 8, 1879.'^'*

Young Scientist i

Ernst Mach entcred thc Univcrsity of Vicnna in thc fali of 1855 where he was finally frcc to conccntratc on his favoritc subjccts, mathcmatics and physics. Unfortunatcly, his courses prcsupposed a knowlcdgc of intcgral and differential calculus, and ncithcr introductory classcs nor casy tcxtbooks on thc subjects scemed to be availablc. Sclf-instruction and tutoring from his mcager 30-guldcn allowancc per month gradually cnablcd him to learn thc subjccts wcll enough to kecp up with his courscs. Nor was Mach satisfied with his courses. “I nevcr had a teachcr of importance outside of the great dcad classical authors, for my student days prcceded almost all of thc reforms of thc Austrian uni-vcrsitics, which had bccn allowcd by Kaiscr Franz to go to the dogs. Since 1 had no moncy to attend a German Univcrsity, I remaincd a stranger with rcspcct to all of my professors, an outsider,’ somconc they mistrusted and against whom they visibly tried to excitc mistrust." ¹

Nonetheless, Mach did bccomc skillcd in laboratory tcchniquc under Andrcas Rittcr von Ettinghauscn (1796-1878), thc succcssor of thc re-nowned Christian Dopplcfas Hcad of the Yienna Physical Tnstitutc.

Perhaps thc most interesting of Mach’s professors was thc mathemati-cian Joscf Pćtzyal (1807-1891). His scicntific famę camc primarily through his design of the first achromatic double objcctivc during thc carly days of photography. He also leetured on thc oscillations of clcc-tric bodies. His popular reputation was bascd largely on his peculiar manner of living and fearsomc manly talcnts. According to one story he rented an abandoncd monastery and livcd thcrc in complete isola-

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