- published: 15 Aug 2015
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In mathematics and physics, a soliton is a self-reinforcing solitary wave (a wave packet or pulse) that maintains its shape while it propagates at a constant velocity. Solitons are caused by a cancellation of nonlinear and dispersive effects in the medium. (The term "dispersive effects" refers to a property of certain systems where the speed of the waves varies according to frequency). Solitons are the solutions of a widespread class of weakly nonlinear dispersive partial differential equations describing physical systems.
The soliton phenomenon was first described in 1834 by John Scott Russell (1808–1882) who observed a solitary wave in the Union Canal in Scotland. He reproduced the phenomenon in a wave tank and named it the "Wave of Translation".
A single, consensus definition of a soliton is difficult to find. Drazin & Johnson (1989, p. 15) ascribe three properties to solitons:
What will my world be like
When I say goodbye
Will you cry at all
Will everybody know who vanished now
Whose light burned out that night
All alone or deep love shown
A sinner seeking a saint come down
Will I feel life the day
When the drapery falls
The grim reaper calls
To take me home
What will I see / who be
When the cold takes my hand
Will I understand
I ever can't be free
Will my shadow ever disappear
Will I fear my fate
When the never calls forever
Will you listen to my words?
Will I feel life the day
When the drapery falls
The grim reaper calls
To take me home
What will I see / who be
When the cold takes my hand
Will I understand
What it means to be happy
I ever can't be free
Will I choose the day
My last breath fades away
Will it set my soul free
Will a new world welcome me?
Will I feel life the day
When the drapery falls
The grim reaper calls
To take me home
What will I see / who be
When the cold takes my hand
Will I understand
What it means to be happy