By Owais AliReviewed by Frances BriggsNov 3 2025They bend the rules of physics. From earthquake-proof foundations to shape-shifting soft robots, metamaterials are redefining what’s possible in engineering.
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By designing structure instead of relying on chemistry, researchers are creating materials that can redirect waves, adapt to their environment, and even heal from stress. It's a new generation of smart, resilient technology.
Why are Metamaterials Unlike Anything in Nature?
Material properties are typically defined by electric permittivity (ε) and magnetic permeability (μ), with free space representing the baseline values ε0 and μ0.
While natural materials are largely constrained to μ ≈ μ0 and ε ≥ ε0, metamaterials provide access to the full ε to μ domain, including right-handed materials (RHM) supporting forward waves, left-handed materials (LHM) supporting backward waves, and electric or magnetic plasmas supporting evanescent waves.1
This unique behavior of metamaterials originates from their internal architecture rather than their chemical composition.
Unlike conventional materials, metamaterials are not continuous or homogeneous but are composite structures composed of precisely engineered micro- or nanometer-scale elements. These elements are arranged in repeating patterns at a subwavelength scale, creating structural resonance.
When electromagnetic, acoustic, or seismic waves encounter these engineered elements, the structures emit secondary waves that interfere in controlled ways, resulting in unconventional macroscopic effects.
This engineered interference enables the manipulation of wave propagation and the realization of unique phenomena such as negative refractive index, electromagnetic cloaking, and reverse Doppler effects.
These capabilities enable a wide range of advanced applications, including superlenses that surpass the diffraction limit, stealth technologies, adaptive antennas, acoustic insulation systems, and vibration-control structures, establishing metamaterials as a cornerstone of next-generation engineering and technological innovation.2
What if you made metamaterials quantum? Read about it:
How Metamaterials are Revolutionizing Industries
Metamaterials are transforming industries by enabling unprecedented control over waves, forces, and fields, leading to transformative applications across acoustics to electromagnetics.
Their architectural flexibility allows the creation of phononic structures with frequency band gaps for acoustic waves, octet truss designs with high strength-to-weight ratios, and tunable, multi-stable systems for adaptive vibration attenuation and mechanical performance.
Bio-inspired and hierarchical designs provide lightweight, multifunctional solutions that improve energy efficiency, robustness, and performance in areas such as aerospace, telecommunications, and medical devices.
Additionally, metamaterials serve as a versatile platform for translating advanced physical concepts, such as topological wave control and quantum-inspired behaviors, into scalable technologies, driving innovation in sensors, imaging systems, soft robotics, and information processing.3
Earthquake-Resistant Metamaterial
A study published in the Scientific Reports proposed a two-dimensional metamaterial framework designed to attenuate seismic wave intensity and reduce structural vibrations during earthquakes.
The metamaterial was modeled as an alternating array of square unit cells with circular steel or lead cores embedded in rubber layers, forming a periodic structure that scatters and suppresses specific wave frequencies.
The framework effectively blocked seismic waves within the 2.6 to 7.8 Hz range, significantly reducing vibrations compared to conventional concrete foundations. Increasing the number of unit cells enhanced wave attenuation, allowing for structural optimization under varying seismic conditions.
This development could provide a scalable approach for developing earthquake-resistant materials that dissipate seismic energy and improve infrastructure resilience.4
Soft Magnetic Metamaterial for Implantable Devices
Researchers at Rice University have developed a magnetically responsive soft metamaterial that combines strength, flexibility, and environmental stability for advanced biomedical applications.
Fabricated entirely from soft silicone using 3D-printed molds, the metamaterial features a bistable geometric architecture with tilted beams and trapezoidal supports, enabling rapid and reversible shape switching under magnetic actuation.
Its programmed magnetic domains maintain stability under mechanical, thermal, and chemical stress, ensuring resilience in harsh biological environments.
The fully soft composition minimizes tissue injury risks, supporting applications in adaptive ingestible devices, reconfigurable actuators, and magnetically controlled medical systems.5
Dual-Network Metamaterials with Enhanced Strength and Flexibility
MIT researchers have developed a new class of metamaterials that combine exceptional strength with high stretchability, addressing a long-standing trade-off between stiffness and flexibility.
The team fabricated these materials from a plexiglass-like polymer through high-precision two-photon lithography, forming a microscopic dual-network structure composed of rigid struts interwoven with a softer, coiled framework.
This architecture allowed the material to stretch over four times its original length without fracturing, a performance far exceeding that of the polymer in its conventional form.
Mechanical testing revealed that controlled defects within the structure enhanced energy dissipation and elasticity, enabling the material to deform extensively while maintaining structural integrity.
These materials show significant potential for applications in impact-resistant textiles, deformable electronic components, adaptive structural materials, and resilient biomedical scaffolds for tissue engineering.6
Adaptive Metamaterials for Aerodynamic Control in Aircraft
Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Caltech, and Boston University are collaborating to develop mechanical metamaterials for the passive control of aerodynamic flows in air vehicles, reducing drag, delaying flow transition, and enhancing maneuverability.
Their approach integrates the dynamic properties of metamaterials, such as frequency-dependent responses, multistability, and adaptive geometries, with turbulent flow behavior.
By creating structures capable of autonomously reconfiguring under varying aerodynamic loads, the researchers aim to use, rather than counter, flow fluctuations.
The team is now optimizing these interactions using advanced computational modeling, fluid-structure interaction simulations, and experimental validation to achieve self-regulating aerodynamic surfaces.
This fluid-metamaterial interaction framework represents a significant shift in aerospace design, enabling aircraft with adaptive surfaces that respond to changing flow conditions, thereby improving aerodynamic efficiency, energy savings, and overall performance.7
Metamaterials: An Introduction
Video Credit: PhysExe - Physics at Exeter/YouTube.com
Magnetically Controlled Metamaterials for Soft Robotics
Researchers at Princeton University have developed a magnetically controlled metamaterial that can expand, deform, and move without the need for motors or internal gears.
The origami-inspired structure, termed a “metabot,” consists of modular chiral unit cells made from plastics and magnetic composites that respond dynamically to external magnetic fields. This design enables precise remote manipulation, allowing complex motions such as twisting, folding, and contracting.
The metabot’s programmable behavior could be used in soft robotics, targeted drug delivery, adaptive thermal control, and more. Its ability to exhibit hysteresis-like responses also provides a platform for simulating nonlinear physical systems and exploring mechanical logic in material design.
These capabilities position the metamaterial as a foundation for advanced applications and responsive engineering platforms that require precise, remote-controlled changes in shape and function.8
Conclusion
Metamaterials hold immense potential to revolutionize optics, acoustics, and electromagnetic technologies.
But significant challenges remain, including nanoscale fabrication for high-frequency applications, energy losses due to material imperfections, integration with existing technologies, and durability under extreme conditions.
Ongoing research into advanced fabrication techniques, adaptive designs, and novel materials aims to address these challenges and broaden the practical applications of metamaterials.
Learn about metamaterials and more from MMU's researchers, here!
References and Further Reading
- Cui, T.J., Liu, R., Smith, D.R. (2010). Introduction to Metamaterials. In: Cui, T., Smith, D., Liu, R. (eds) Metamaterials. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0573-4_1
- Matei, A. T., Visan, A. I., & Florentina, G. (2025). Design and Processing of Metamaterials. Crystals, 15(4), 374. https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst15040374
- Krushynska, A. O., S. Janbaz, Oh, J. H., Wegener, M., & Fang, N. X. (2023). Fundamentals and applications of metamaterials: Breaking the limits. Applied Physics Letters, 123(24). https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0189043
- Gupta, A., Sharma, R., Thakur, A., & Gulia, P. (2023). Metamaterial foundation for seismic wave attenuation for low and wide frequency band. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-27678-1
- Greenwood, T. E., et al. (2025). Soft multi-stable magnetic-responsive metamaterials. Science Advances. https://doi.org/adu3749
- Surjadi, J. U., Aymon, B. F., Carton, M., & Portela, C. M. (2025). Double-network-inspired mechanical metamaterials. Nature Materials, 24(6), 945-954. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-025-02219-5
- Pappas, M. (2023). Metamaterials to Reduce Drag and Enhance Maneuverability in Aircraft. https://blog.seas.upenn.edu/metamaterials-to-reduce-drag-and-enhance-maneuverability-in-aircraft/
- Zhao, T., Dang, X., Manos, K., Zang, S., Mandal, J., Chen, M., & Paulino, G. H. (2025). Modular chiral origami metamaterials. Nature, 640(8060), 931-940. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-08851-0
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