Solitons sound like some particle from quantum physics, but they were discovered by a classic Victorian scientist, J. Scott Russell in 1845. He was a Scotsman, a civil engineer and a naval engineer. One day and he observed a strange wave formed by a boat in a canal that traveled several miles along it without decaying. He wrote an article about this stange phenomenon, in 1845. Waves are supposed to lose energy and fade away, this one, on the other hand, remained coherent-
The name Soliton is now used to describe these waves "solit" from "solitary" wave, and the "-on" suffix in an analogy to the one used for elementary particles (electron, photon, proton, etc.)
The "solitary wave" or "soliton" are a special type of wave, that once they form move constantly in the same direction with no changes in the height of the wave, its interval (frequency) or shape. They don't dissipate, they maintain their form and can travel long distances from the spot they were created.
They form in the sea, in rivers, lakes, and canals. Wind, tides, shallow water, water layers with different temperatures, ships, and underwater topograph can contribute to their formation.
Johen Scott Russell pointed out that "if a wave is too big for the depth of water, it splits into two, one big and one small" with the bigger one traveling faster than the smaller one. Over time they will become separate waves. But there are other mechanisms that can split solitons even in deep water forming a train of waves that travel together over an otherwise flat body of water. These trains can contain between two and six separate waves.
Professor Sergei Eremenko describes this in his book and includes photographs like the one below.
The video is captioned: "Unstoppable like tsunami, soliton envelope wave packet, composed from two distinct sub-groups, slowly cruising Lake Wakatipu, New Zealand."
The same type of wave trains can be seen in Patagonia. Below is a soliton observed in Lake Nahuel Huapi on Feb 16, 2020. The viewers thought they were seeing the activities of the famous "Nahuelito". But a scientist consulted by the press suggested it was a soliton (source),
As expected, the video mentions "Nahuelito," ignoring the scientific explanation.
In recent posts I have suggested that waves are a reasonable explanation for mysterious lake creatures, especially single wave fronts that look like the wake left by a submerged animal.
Patagonian Monsters - Cryptozoology, Myths & legends in Patagonia Copyright 2009-2025 by Austin Whittall ©
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