Physicists rapport new breakthrough in field of topological matter

The new metamaterial designed by the researchers. Image: Coulais et al. Sometimes, the inside of a material can determine what happens on the outside. A team of physicists from the University of Amsterdam has devised a new way to make use of this general truth, in particular in systems that do not conserve energy. The results were published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences this week. In physics and mathematics, topology is the study of shapes and forms at large. Topology does not worry about fine details, but asks what can be learned about a system from its most global properties.