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soliton (Definition)

A soliton is a non-linear object which moves through space without dispersion at constant speed. They occur naturally as solutions to the Korteweg - de Vries equation. They were first observed by John Scott Russell in the 19th century and then by Martin Kruskal and Norman Zabusky (who coined the term soliton) in a famous computer simulation in 1965. Insight into solitons can be obtained by noting that the Korteweg - de Vries equation satisfies D'Alembert's solution:

$\displaystyle u(x, t) = f(x-ct) + g(x+ct) $
We see at once that this satisfies two important criteria: it has a constant velocity $c$, and it can also be shown that the two functions $f$ and $g$ can collide without altering shape. Solitons also occur in non-linear optics and as solutions to field equations in quantum field theory.



"soliton" is owned by invisiblerhino.

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Cross-references: quantum field theory, field, functions, velocity, computer simulation, speed, object
There are 5 references to this object.

This is version 1 of soliton, born on 2008-03-20.
Object id is 273, canonical name is Soliton.
Accessed 808 times total.

Classification:
Physics Classification: 05.45.Yv (Solitons )
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