A quiet revolution is taking shape in the world of physics, and it doesn’t rely on exotic particles or massive particle colliders. Instead, it begins with something much more familiar—sound.

It can transport sound through space silently—becoming audible only when desired. How did we do this? Normally, sound waves combine linearly, meaning they just proportionally add up into a bigger wave ...

Private listening out in the open is possible thanks to acoustic metasurfaces that precisely bend and direct sound waves.