  In a strongly nonlinear viscous granular chain under conditions of loading
that exclude stationary waves (e.g., impact by a single grain) we observe a
pulse that consists of two interconnected but distinct parts. One is a leading
narrow "primary pulse" with properties similar to a solitary wave in a "sonic
vacuum." It arises from strong nonlinearity and discreteness in the absence of
dissipation, but now decays due to viscosity. The other is a broad, much more
persistent shock-like "secondary pulse" trailing the primary pulse and caused
by viscous dissipation. The medium behind the primary pulse is transformed from
a "sonic vacuum" to a medium with finite sound speed. When the rapidly decaying
primary pulse dies, the secondary pulse continues to propagate in the "sonic
vacuum," with an oscillatory front if the viscosity is relatively small, until
its eventual (but very slow) disintegration. Beyond a critical viscosity there
is no separation of the two pulses, and the dissipation and nonlinearity
dominate the shock-like attenuating pulse which now exhibits a nonoscillatory
front.
