Abstract
The article considers the “many-faced” Mach principle and the principle of relativity, which are organically related due to the unity of nature, and provides a brief historical overview of the primary sources of these principles. Ernst Mach formulated his principle by criticizing Newtonian mechanics in his book [1] in 1896. A. Einstein, first using the term “Mach principle” in 1918, wrote that the general theory of relativity is based on three main points, one of which was the Mach principle [2. P. 613]. Currently, Mach principle is used as one of the three main provisions of the relational theory of Yu.S. Vladimirov [3]. The article also describes A. Einstein’s thought experiment from the article “Is there a gravitational effect similar to electrodynamic induction?” [2. P. 223] and about numerous experiments based on various physical principles, with the aim of checking Mach principle.
