In mathematics and physics, a solitary wave can refer to
- The solitary wave (water waves) or wave of translation, as observed by John Scott Russell in 1834, the prototype for a soliton.
- A soliton, a generalization of the wave of translation to general systems of partial differential equations
- A topological defect, a generalization of the idea of a soliton to any system which is stable against decay due to homotopy theory
Famous quotes containing the words solitary and/or wave:
“We need the tonic of wildness,—to wade sometimes in marshes where the bittern and the meadow-hen lurk, and hear the booming of the snipe; to smell the whispering sedge where only some wilder and more solitary fowl builds her nest, and the mink crawls with its belly close to the ground.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Through this broad street, restless ever,
Ebbs and flows a human tide,
Wave on wave a living river;
Wealth and fashion side by side;
Toiler, idler, slave and master, in the same quick current glide.”
—John Greenleaf Whittier (1807–1892)