Order has long been the rule in the design of synthetic “metamaterials,” which have internal structures that give the whole material exceptional properties not found in nature.When scientists engineer a metamaterial, they design from a single building block, or “unit cell,” that is then copied and pasted many times over. The result is a precise, periodic microstructure that results in improved material performance. Now, a team from MIT and Northeastern University has found that engineering a little disorder into a material can further enhance its “meta” features. In an open-access study appearing…
