Metamaterials are a cutting-edge class of man-made materials that can manipulate waves, light, sound, and heat, something that natural materials cannot. Metamaterials are different from regular materials whose properties are related to chemical composition, whereas the unique abilities of metamaterials are  a  result  of  their  internal  structure.  The  structures  are designed using periodic sub-wavelength structures.This has led to breathtaking advances in optics. "Superlenses" that can image objects smaller than the wavelength of light, breaking the traditional resolution barriers, have been created by researchers. Even first-stage invisibility cloaks have been constructed, which are able to divert light around an object to make it practically invisible.

Acoustic metamaterials are equally astounding. They defelect or  dampen  sound  waves  with  a  minimal  amount  of  space, which  makes  them  ideal  for  stealth  and  noise  reduction. Likewise, thermal metamaterials offer new ways to manage heat conduction. This can lead to efficient devices as well as thermal camouflage.Metamaterials are now emerging from the lab and entering mainstream  applications.  They  are  being  used  in  ultra-thin antennas,  next-generation  medical  imaging,  radar-absorbing paints, and flexible wearable sensors. Metasurfaces, thin optics made of nanostructures, can even supplant traditional lenses in smartphones, AR glasses, and satellite systems.

But there are setbacks. Most metamaterials operate well in very limited bands of frequency. Fabrication on a large scale and avoiding structural defects are similarly difficult to attain. Still, advance continues with advancements in nanofabrication, 3D printing, and computer simulation.Metamaterials  represent  a  materials  science  revolution. Function is determined here by structure. Design becomes a source of imagination and invention. These materials are not only  reshaping  technologies,  they  are  reshaping  how  we experience and interact with the world.

With  further  advancements  in  science,  meta-materials  may transform whole industries, not just aerospace and telecom but medicine  as  well,  and  defense.  In  them,  there  is  a  deep message: the future isn't something that is given to us by nature, it is something we design