solitary wave

American  

noun

Mathematics, Physics.

1. a localized disturbance that propagates like a wave but resembles a particle in that it does not disperse, even if it collides with other such waves.

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Example Sentences

These so-called solitary waves, or solitons, emerged and formed the parade with a predictable periodicity, marching perfectly on beat, consequently building a time crystal.

From Scientific American

Fincham, who was born in Britain and grew up in Jamaica, envisioned a soliton—a solitary wave that maintains its energy as it propagates.

From The New Yorker

The result is what physicists call a solitary wave, or soliton, that mimics an individual swell in the open ocean.

From Science Magazine

Then the moon rose and silvered them, and shed a strange light upon the limitless, unresting, solitary waves.

From Project Gutenberg

Chained to my solitary wave, I flew anxiously through the winding, rocky narrows, into which, at times, a thunderbolt darted.

From Project Gutenberg