Superfluids point to the origin of Monster Ocean waves
Some say they are the responsible for the loss of many ships at sea, and survivors describe them as “a wall of water” over 30 m tall. Rogue or “monster” waves have long been an enigma to scientists with no convincing theory for their formation. But now physicists in UK and Russia think they may have stumbled upon a worthy mechanism through studies of another system — superfluid helium.
“The wave equations for the two systems are very closely analogous,” Inverse cascade Like most physical systems — including the ocean — superfluid helium is non-linear, which means that it does not respond in proportion to its stimulation. According to the Russian mathematician Andrei Kolmogorov, who presented a theory of non-linear wave interactions in the early 1940s, waves should decay in a process whereby energy “cascades” towards shorter and shorter wavelengths. Eventually, said Kolmogorov, viscosity would be able to dissipate the short-wavelength waves as heat.
This “inverse cascade” could produce single rogue waves more than 50% bigger than their neighbours, similar to the ratio seen in oceanic rogue waves Although German Kolmakov, a theorist at Chernogololvka, is analysing the results, the team cannot yet explain how the inverse cascade works. “We are still trying to understand it,” says McClintock.
If McClintock’s team is successful in understanding the mechanism behind monster ocean waves it might enable scientists to predict when they occur, which would be an obvious boon to seafarers. But it might also enable the huge waves to be created — an ability that could have military applications.
“The wave equations for the two systems are very closely analogous,” Inverse cascade Like most physical systems — including the ocean — superfluid helium is non-linear, which means that it does not respond in proportion to its stimulation. According to the Russian mathematician Andrei Kolmogorov, who presented a theory of non-linear wave interactions in the early 1940s, waves should decay in a process whereby energy “cascades” towards shorter and shorter wavelengths. Eventually, said Kolmogorov, viscosity would be able to dissipate the short-wavelength waves as heat.
This “inverse cascade” could produce single rogue waves more than 50% bigger than their neighbours, similar to the ratio seen in oceanic rogue waves Although German Kolmakov, a theorist at Chernogololvka, is analysing the results, the team cannot yet explain how the inverse cascade works. “We are still trying to understand it,” says McClintock.
If McClintock’s team is successful in understanding the mechanism behind monster ocean waves it might enable scientists to predict when they occur, which would be an obvious boon to seafarers. But it might also enable the huge waves to be created — an ability that could have military applications.