astronomy

Heinrich Mache

Heinrich Mache is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Heinrich Mache rather than just read about it. In short: Heinrich Mache (27 April 1876 – 1 September 1954) was an Austrian physicist. He won the Haitinger Prize of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in 1915.

Key takeaways

Heinrich Mache belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Heinrich Mache to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Heinrich Mache from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Heinrich Mache (27 April 1876 – 1 September 1954) was an Austrian physicist. He won the Haitinger Prize of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in 1915.

Life Born in Prague, after his secondary school studies, Mache completed the first year of physics in Prague, among other things, heard lectures by Ernst Mach and in 1894 moved with his family to Vienna, where he continued his studies with Franz Serafin Exner and continued with Ludwig Boltzmann. He received his doctorate in 1898 working under Exner on the "experimental proof of electrostriction in gases" and worked as a photographic expert during 1900/1901 and participated in the astronomical expedition for the Vienna Academy to India. In connection with his research he conducted air electrical measurements on the Red Sea, in Delhi, Ceylon and Upper Egypt. In 1901, he habilitated at the University of Vienna. In 1906, he was appointed associate professor at the University of Innsbruck, which he left after two years in order accept the position as a professor at the Technical University Vienna. He was the successor of Friedrich Hasenöhrl. He died in Vienna.

Noteworthy relatives His wife was the granddaughter of the great geologist Eduard Suess.

Tributes and memorials In 1966 in Donau City (22nd District), Vienna, the Makegasse (Mache Alley) was named in his honor.

Research, interests and achievements His research was mainly radioactivity, thermodynamics, atmospheric electricity, and the physics of combustion phenomena. He developed with Ludwig Flamm a theory of combustion of explosive gas mixtures. Due to his work with radon, the now unusual unit Mache was named for describing the activity of radioactive medicinal waters.

Wilhelm Exner Medal, 1927 Mache continued the Zippermayr Group experiments with early Carbon-Oxygen Fuel–air explosives, which SS sought to develop in Austria during the WWII, under the Soviets in late 1945.

Mache unit The Mache is the amount of radon in one liter that will produce a saturation current of 0.001 electrostatic unit (ESU) of current and is equivalent to 364 pCi L−1. The eman (emanation) unit, used in the 1920s and 1930s, is equivalent to 100 pCi L−1.

References

Further reading Rechenberg, Helmut (1987). "Mache, Heinrich". Neue deutsche Biographie (in German). Volume 15. Berlin: Duncker & Humblot. pp. 611–612. ISBN 3-428-00196-6. Retrieved 24 May 2014. "Heinrich Mache" (in German). Wilhelm Exner Medal Foundation. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2014.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Heinrich Mache

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Heinrich Mache claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Heinrich Mache before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Heinrich Mache ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Heinrich Mache

In research: Heinrich Mache appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Heinrich Mache in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Heinrich Mache is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1876 births, 1954 deaths, Academic staff of TU Wien, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Heinrich Mache outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Heinrich Mache in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Heinrich Mache means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Heinrich Mache out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Heinrich Mache in simple terms?

Heinrich Mache (27 April 1876 – 1 September 1954) was an Austrian physicist. He won the Haitinger Prize of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in 1915.

Why does Heinrich Mache matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Heinrich Mache?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Heinrich Mache.