超材料 Metamaterial, 拉丁语词根“meta-”表示“超出、另类”等含义。指的是一类具有特殊性质的人造材料，这些材料是自然界没有的。它们拥有一些特别的性质，比如让光、电磁波改变它们的通常性质，而这样的效果是传统材料无法实现的。超材料的成分上没有什幺特别之处，它们的奇特性质源于其精密的几何结构以及尺寸大小。其中的微结构，大小尺度小于它作用的波长，因此得以对波施加影响。 对于超材料的初步研究是负折射率超材料

超材料的奇异性质使它具有广泛的应用前景，从高接收率天线，到雷达反射罩甚至是地震预警。

Metamaterials (from the Greek word "meta-", μετά- meaning "beyond") are materials engineered to have properties that have not yet been found in nature. They are made from assemblies of multiple elements fashioned from composite materials such as metals or plastics. The materials are usually arranged in repeating patterns, at scales that are smaller than the wavelengths of the phenomena they influence. Metamaterials derive their properties not from the properties of the base materials, but from their newly designed structures. Their precise shape, geometry, size, orientation and arrangement gives them their smart properties capable of manipulating electromagnetic waves: by blocking, absorbing, enhancing, bending waves, to achieve benefits that go beyond what is possible with conventional materials.