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OscillonOscillon is the name given to a localised columnar shape spontaneously formed by vibrating particles under certain conditions. This self-sustaining state was named by analogy with the large-scale formation, the soliton, which is a localised wave that maintains its integrity as it moves, as with bores on rivers. The apparently-new phenomenon was discovered by experiments at University of Texas at Austin. Nobody quite knows what to make of oscillons at the moment: they clearly have connections with the mathematical theory of chaos and may give insights into the way atoms organise and interact. Oscillons may give clues to understanding fundamental patterns in other areas. The experimental procedure is similar to that used to form Chladni figures of sand on a vibrating plate. Researchers realised that these figures say more about the vibrations in the plate than in the sand and created an experimental set-up — using a shallow layer of those brass balls in a vacuum — that minimised outside effects. When they vibrated the plate at a critical amplitude, they found that the balls spontaneously formed a localised vibrating column which lasted indefinitely.
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