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This paper examines the historical development and significance of solitons in various scientific fields.

March 1, 1998

The Early History of Solitons (Solitary Waves)

Key Points

This paper examines the historical development and significance of solitons in various scientific fields.
Chronological overview of key events in the history of solitons from 1834 to 1965
Discussion of theoretical advancements by Korteweg and de Vries in 1895
Review of numerical investigations by Zabusky and Kruskal in 1965
John Scott Russell's 1834 observation laid the groundwork for the study of solitary waves.
The term 'soliton' was introduced by Zabusky and Kruskal to describe wave behavior in 1965.
Solitons demonstrated particle-like properties by maintaining their identity after collisions.

Abstract

The early history of solitons or solitary waves began in August 1834 when the Victorian Engineer John Scott Russell observed a solitary wave travelling along a Scottish canal. The definitive theory was not published until 1895 by Korteweg and de Vries, working in Amsterdam. The subject was reborn in Plasma Physics in 1958 with the discovery, by J. H. Adlam and the author, of solitary waves in a collisionless plasma containing a magnetic field. In 1965 Zabusky and Kruskal found, by numerical investigation, that such waves retain their identity after colliding. This particle-like behaviour led these authors to introduce the term soliton to replace the term solitary wave.

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