Transparent Wood is Stronger and Lighter than Glass

[dgstorm]

Here's a crazy bit of off topic tech news for this mundane Monday morning. Apparently some researchers at the University of Maryland (lead by Liangbing Hu) were able to pull the color out of a block of wood and render it transparent. Not only were they able to make the block of wood see through, the result was also stronger and lighter than glass.

Here's a quote with a few more details,

"The researchers first boiled the wood in water, sodium hydroxide and other chemicals for roughly two hours. This flushes out lignin, the molecule responsible for giving wood its color. The team then poured epoxy over the block which makes the wood four to five times stronger, although it makes it all a little less environmentally-friendly in the process."

The biggest hurdle to making this new wood-window material viable is that the researchers have yet to duplicate the results on anything larger than a five by five-inch sized wood block. What do you folks think of this odd new idea?

Source: Engadget

 

[liftedplane]

interesting...

now to get those fancy space ready aluminum windows and start building our first star ship.

 

[Sajo]

Very interesting! How did someone come up with that idea? "Hey Bob, let's see if we can make this piece of wood see-through today". Crazy scientists.

 

[chevycam94]

So let me get this straight. The wood itself is stronger? It had nothing to do with the fact that they poured epoxy all over it? How sing would the wood itself have been WITHOUT the epoxy? Probably WEAKER then the original dry wood counterpart.

 

[mountainbikermark]

So let me get this straight. The wood itself is stronger? It had nothing to do with the fact that they poured epoxy all over it? How sing would the wood itself have been WITHOUT the epoxy? Probably WEAKER then the original dry wood counterpart.

I use different epoxies with wood working and the glues are always stronger at the joint than the original wood but it's the wood itself that has the ability to flex some, making a stronger overall product in all 3 types (tensile, compressive and sheer) of strength. Being able to have a clear product made from wood in and of itself is pretty darn cool. Adding the ability for its extra strength is just bonus points. In this age of plastics and "save the trees" mentality I don't see it ever becoming more than just experimental though.

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[Jonny Kansas]

Also, while that example in the OP is quite clear, it's still not 100% clear to be seen through. I don't see an application for this other than maybe a small decorative window (if they can get it to work on a larger piece). Kind of a frosted glass look to it. Definitely not something I'd want on my phone at this point or even to replace windows in my house.

I'm also curious about it's insulating properties, what with double and triple pane windows and such.

Maybe on boats or airplanes or something? But it'd still need to be as clear as glass to be used widely. I also agree with Mark that the fact that people are worried about saving trees will prohibit something like this from taking off in a mass market.

 

[mountainbikermark]

Also, while that example in the OP is quite clear, it's still not 100% clear to be seen through. I don't see an application for this other than maybe a small decorative window (if they can get it to work on a larger piece). Kind of a frosted glass look to it. Definitely not something I'd want on my phone at this point or even to replace windows in my house.

I'm also curious about it's insulating properties, what with double and triple pane windows and such.

Maybe on boats or airplanes or something? But it'd still need to be as clear as glass to be used widely. I also agree with Mark that the fact that people are worried about saving trees will prohibit something like this from taking off in a mass market.

Sky lights to save energy wild be one practical usage in the business world. Roof panels on delivery trucks and buses is another. Though these would need larger sheets, the technology they now already have to make use of wood dust could turn this into a practical lighting solution while at the same time cutting down on wasted wood scraps. When I was working with doors we created tons of literal wood dust over the years. Were they able to put this dust in the stuff to remove the coloring, press it into sheets like they do wood particles then coat it with safety glass coatings this could really work and be a win win.
A bit off topic, I had a Safelite tech patch a chip in my windshield last week that is researching how she could work out coating entire windshields with the epoxy she used as the patch as a way where we the costumer could buy her service as a preventative to windshield chips and breaks. A real cost savings overall to folks that drive a lot of miles every year and go through the inevitable rock thrown up on the highways that , if you're like me, seeks out the windshield for a place to strike like it's radar guided to the center of the driving sweet spot for viewing the road. I have a rider on my insurance 26th unlimited no deductible glass breakage but with this coating I wouldn't have to take time to get repairs or replacements or drop the rider.

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[kixfan]

Doesn't seem very cost effective at this point. Boil for 2 hours, coat with epoxy, charge consumer three times the price for the same piece of wood. Should be a big hit. LOL

 

[GAstorino]

What about the transparent aluminum we where promised.

 

[kixfan]

What about the transparent aluminum we where promised.

Scotty hasn't invented it yet.

 

[jkaod]

Actually Scotty did develop it. Pretty amazing stuff.
Transparent Aluminum Now A Reality

 

[chevycam94]

So once it's clear, is it actually stronger? Basically, is clear wood stronger than opaque wood (no epoxy involved, to keep the test equal).

 

[mountainbikermark]

So once it's clear, is it actually stronger? Basically, is clear wood stronger than opaque wood (no epoxy involved, to keep the test equal).

Probably not. If nothing else the immersion in liquid would make it more brittle once it dries if left untreated.

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[FoxKat]

Probably not. If nothing else the immersion in liquid would make it more brittle once it dries if left untreated.

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Hmm. I wonder if the lignin before it is extracted doesn't actually make the wood more subject to breaking by keeping the molecules of the remaining fibers from making a tighter atomic bind...

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[mountainbikermark]

Hmm. I wonder if the lignin before it is extracted doesn't actually make the wood more subject to breaking by keeping the molecules of the remaining fibers from making a tighter atomic bind...

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That is what I mean . By the molecules becoming tighter together there would be a loss of tensile and/or sheer strength while gaining compression strength which is fine for non moving objects. What we're talking about here is the possibility of transparent wood that is mobile. Without knowing for sure what is stripped from the wood besides its pigments I can't really answer the consequences of the soaking besides an increase in clarity

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