Poisson's ratio defines how a material expands (or contracts) transversely when being compressed longitudinally. While most natural materials have a positive Poisson's ratio (coinciding with our intuitive idea that by compressing a material it must expand in the orthogonal direction), a family of extreme materials known as auxetic materials can exhibit Poisson's ratios below zero. Examples of these can be found in nature, or fabricated, and often consist of a low-volume microstructure that grants the extreme properties to the bulk material. Simple designs of composites possessing negative Poisson's ratio (inverted hexagonal periodicity cell) were published in 1985. In addition, certain origami folds such as the Miura fold and, in general, zigzag-based folds are also known to exhibit negative Poisson's ratio.
