Lego pirate proves, survives, super rogue wave

Scientists have used a Lego pirate floating in a fish tank to demonstrate for the first time that so-called 'super rogue waves' can come from nowhere in apparently calm seas and engulf ships. The research team, led by Professor Nail Akhmediev of the Research School of Physics and Engineering at ANU, working with colleagues from Hamburg University of Technology and the University of Turin have been conducting experiments in nonlinear dynamics, to try and explain so-called rogue or killer waves. These high-impact 'monsters of the deep', can appear in otherwise tranquil oceans causing danger, and even sinking ships. Using a scientific fish tank, a wave generator and a Lego man on a ship floating on the water surface, the scientists were able to demonstrate that rogue waves much bigger than previously thought can occur. The team have labelled these 'super rogue waves', as they can be up to five times bigger than the other waves around them. A video of the experiment can be seen here: http://prx.aps.org/multimedia/PRX/v2/i1/e011015/e011015_vid1.mov "This observation could have far-reaching consequences for our efforts to understand these waves that are, by far, still mysterious," said Akmediev. "The large amplification of the rogue wave peak above the normal waves around it suggests the existence of a new class of waves - the so-called 'super rogue waves'.