A break through in treating wood I see all kinds of possibilities. a stronger wood

If you are interested in a slightly more detailed report on this new tech... super wood

I'm not sure I'll ever see this tech applied in a canoe, but one can hope.

How does the weight compare with carbon fiber?

jcavenagh: "If you are interested in a slightly more detailed report on this new tech... super wood

I'm not sure I'll ever see this tech applied in a canoe, but one can hope."

That is pretty neat...thanks for sharing

dr bob

It’s not clear what the weight of this wood is. They remove a little from it but then squash it to a thinner piece. It might be almost as heavy as the original thick piece.

When they compared it to carbon fiber, they may have been talking about some other property than weight.

Well this is odd and awesome. This could quite literally change the world. This would be one of the biggest developments in the history of man- a renewable resource that's as strong as steel; and assumingly cheaper to procure. If it is lighter too, then aluminum could be replaced for many applications- maybe even carbon fiber- wouldn't that be funny, we finally start to make carbon fiber viabale, and it's replaced with... wood.

I somehow don't believe this though... it just seems too good to be true.

Grizzlyman: "
Well this is odd and awesome. This could quite literally change the world. This would be one of the biggest developments in the history of man- a renewable resource that's as strong as steel; and assumingly cheaper to procure. If it is lighter too, then aluminum could be replaced for many applications- maybe even carbon fiber- wouldn't that be funny, we finally start to make carbon fiber viabale, and it's replaced with... wood.


I somehow don't believe this though... it just seems too good to be true.
"

Since it's reported by Scientific American, I believe it...and am thrilled. Oh, what a brave, new world this is, that will have such wonders in it!

I'll definitely be following this 'new wood'. Will it really be super light though? It sounds like it was being compared to other dense woods which are typically very heavy and no mention of being lightweight. Also, it may be very difficult to work with if it shares properties with metals, etc.

Interesting.

Lots of questions.......patented process? That may influence price and availability. Naturally the chemicals used must be evaluated as well. Workability will be another question. Can it be machined easily? Cut, drilled etc. Is it more or less flame retardant?

The private sector will find the application for which it is best suited.