So-called Rayleigh–Bloch waves can release enormous amount of energy that can damage technical systems under certain circumstances. They only exist below a precisely defined cut-off frequency; above this they disappear abruptly. Mathematicians from the Universities of Augsburg and Adelaide have recently proposed an explanation for this puzzling phenomenon.

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Prof. Dr Malte Peter, professor of applied analysis at the University of Augsburg, has been named a life member of Clare Hall, one of 31 colleges of the University of Cambridge.