What properties can metamaterials have?

I was curious what meta materials can do or be used for? Particularly I was curious if they can mimic the properties of expensive and rare materials like rare earth metals which China has an advantage with.

Have you read up on what meta materials are? What similarities are you thinking they might share with rare and expensive earth metals?

DaveC426913 said:

Have you read up on what meta materials are?

Given the OP's posting history, one can make a pretty good guess to this. Further, since it assumes facts contrary to reality, that guess can be supported.

Gadolimium costs as much per pound as a decent steak.

Vanadium 50 said:

Gadolimium costs as much per pound as a decent steak.

That's because it's a medium-rare earth element.

DaveC426913 said:

Have you read up on what meta materials are? What similarities are you thinking they might share with rare and expensive earth metals?

Well I'm pretty sure they are common materials that have been "textured" at the moleculer level in the range of smaller than wavelengths as that their properties are different? I just don't know in what ways other than in what ways besides maybe more reflective.

Wikipedia says, "any material engineered to have a property that is not found in naturally occurring materials."

I don't know how extreme they can be manipulated

LightningInAJar said:

"any material engineered to have a property that is not found in naturally occurring materials."

And are rare-earth elements naturally occurring?

Being a rare-earth element, and being a metamaterial, are independent and orthogonal concepts. Obviously, metamaterials can be made that contain rare-earth elements.

Rare-earth elements are not in short supply. They are simply more expensive to locate, mine and refine than is silicon, aluminium, iron or carbon.

Vanadium 50 said:

And are rare-earth elements naturally occurring?

Well they aren't man made. China has a mining advantage over the US in extracting it, and I heard (likely on 60 minutes) that the process of getting them is toxic and expensive but we need them for many devices. In any event if metamaterials can't be used as a stand in I guess that settles that.