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Glite Dictionary
soliton wave

soliton wave

9.9
A single wave that keeps its shape while moving at steady speed in some materials
  • noun
  • /ˈsɒlɪtɒn weɪv/
  • Specialized
translation icon : ola de solitón
  • In fluid dynamics, a soliton wave can travel long distances without changing its form.

Examples

  • The researchers studied the behavior of a soliton wave in a nonlinear optical medium.

  • That paper, on the propagation of soliton waves in channels, has, in recent decades, been widely recognized as a groundbreaking work.

    Academic text (2002)

  • Mathematicians are fascinated by how a soliton wave maintains its shape while moving at a constant speed.

Synonyms

soliton
vssoliton wave
  • Specialized
4 9.9

A single wave that moves without changing shape or losing energy

is self reinforcing and maintains shape while moving at constant speed
solitary wave
vssoliton wave
  • Specialized
9.8

A single wave that travels long distances without changing shape or losing energy

is self reinforcing and maintains shape while moving at constant speed

How Stable

soliton wave
  • Specialized
9.9
wave
759 1.0

Surface Forms

soliton wave singular
soliton waves plural

Morphology

soliton + wave

The meaning is fully compositional: 'soliton' (a self-reinforcing wave that maintains shape) combined with 'wave' yields the described concept without idiomatic shift. Although it is technical jargon, if a learner knows both constituent meanings the overall meaning is directly derivable.

Etymology

Soliton wave may come from an 1800s story in which an engineer saw one single wave travel along a canal without changing shape and called it a 'solitary' wave. So, soliton wave means a 'single' wave that 'keeps its shape' as it moves.