Metamaterials for Extreme Optics , The surprising world where optical properties approach zero

Nanotechnology has opened the door to metamaterials—engineered composites with optical properties unlike anything found in nature. These materials allow us to explore the limits of light behavior in startling ways.

In the most extreme cases, we can design materials in which light propagates with infinite phase velocity—corresponding to a refractive index of zero—or where light effectively stops, becoming highly localized in space.

In this lecture, we'll (interactively!) explore these unusual phenomena and consider their implications for both fundamental science and future technologies