The study of platonic crystals is referred to as platonics, and does not refer to the teachings of Plato, or the Platonic solids. The term is now in common usage by multiple research groups in Australia, New Zealand, France, and the United Kingdom.
Applications
The types of platonic structures that have been examined include arrays of perforations,[1][2][3] arrays of pins,[4][5][6][7][8] arrays of point masses,[9] as well as periodic variations in the plate material itself.[10] Platonic crystals have been shown to exhibit a number of behaviours similar to photonic crystals, including negative refraction, beam splitting, and wave trapping.[2][7][8] They may also feature large stopbands where wave propagation is not possible through the crystal,[1] as well as cloaking near degenerate band surfaces.[11] Investigations into defective platonic crystals has also revealed strong energy localization effects within the defects, with high quality factors.[9][12][13]
Experimental work in platonics to date has shown promising results in cloaking[14] and flat lens focusing of flexural wave energy.[15]
^D.V. Evans; R. Porter (2007), "Penetration of flexural waves through a periodically constrained thin elastic plate in vacuo and floating on water", Journal of Engineering Mathematics, 58 (1): 317–337, Bibcode:2007JEnMa..58..317E, doi:10.1007/s10665-006-9128-0, S2CID52238485
^T. Antonakakis; R. Craster; S. Guenneau (2013), Moulding flexural waves in elastic plates lying atop a Faqir's bed of nails, arXiv:1301.7653, Bibcode:2013arXiv1301.7653A
^R. C. McPhedran; A.B. Movchan; N.V. Movchan (2009), "Platonic crystals: Bloch bands, neutrality and defects", Mechanics of Materials, 41 (4): 356–363, doi:10.1016/j.mechmat.2009.01.005
^M. Dubois; M. Farhat; E. Bossy; S. Enoch; S. Guenneau; P. Sebbah (2013), "Flat lens for time-domain focusing of elastic waves in thin plates", Applied Physics Letters, 103 (7): 071915, arXiv:1303.3022, Bibcode:2013ApPhL.103g1915D, doi:10.1063/1.4818716