UW News
Michael Forbes
February 3, 2014
Solving a physics mystery: Those ‘solitons’ are really vortex rings
![An example of a vortex ring, also called a toroidal bubble, which dolphins create under water. The concept of vortex rings lies at the heart of new University of Washington physics research.](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/02/04185146/toroidalbubble-150x150.jpg)
The same physics that gives stability to tornadoes lies at the heart of new UW research and could lead to a better understanding of nuclear dynamics in studying fission, superconductors and the workings of neutron stars.