Very interesting. I'd never heard of a roton. It'll be interesting to see what can be done with these through engineering. When I was in high school the hope was for room temperature superconductors to change everything. Didn't happen but superconductors do have their uses. The other big hope was cheap, abundant titanium to replace much of the items that are now made out of steel. Titanium bikes are here. They're very nice but expensive. Not too many car chassis made out of titanium that I know of. Ti is abundant in the earth's crust but remains hard to work with.
Ok, but does your audio gear have rotons (metamaterials)?
Not yet. But get ready for the LS50 Meta Meta.
"A group of researchers is working on metamaterials that "grow" rotons. Metamaterials exhibit optical, acoustic, electrical, or magnetic properties that are not found in nature.…Thus, it might be possible in the future to better manipulate sound waves in air or in materials, for example, to bounce them back, redirect them, or create echoes. These materials have not been demonstrated experimentally yet; however, it should be possible to produce them by using technologies such as ultra-precise 3D laser printing." https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/06/210610135559.htm
"A group of researchers is working on metamaterials that "grow" rotons. Metamaterials exhibit optical, acoustic, electrical, or magnetic properties that are not found in nature.…Thus, it might be possible in the future to better manipulate sound waves in air or in materials, for example, to bounce them back, redirect them, or create echoes. These materials have not been demonstrated experimentally yet; however, it should be possible to produce them by using technologies such as ultra-precise 3D laser printing." https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/06/210610135559.htm