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Transparent Wooden Windows

submitted by UncleDoug to Architecture 2 daysMay 31, 2025 23:39:19 ago (+8/-1)     (files.catbox.moe)

https://files.catbox.moe/3jthj7.PNG

Is transparent wood an energy-efficient alternative to glass?

buildings lose a lot of heat through glass, and while light can bring some heat through the material, it’s not a good insulator. This is why we need double glazing. Wood, on the other hand, is highly insulating but it’s not transparent. Usually.

Wood’s lack of transparency comes from the combination of its two main components, cellulose and lignin. The lignin absorbs light, and the presence of chromophores – light activated compounds – in the material makes the wood look brown. The fibres in the wood, which mainly comprise cellulose, are hollow tube-like structures. The air in these hollow tubes scatters light, further reducing the material’s transparency.

Previous work on making wood transparent has involved removing the lignin completely from the structure and replacing it with a resin material. The removal of lignin requires a lot of environmentally harmful chemicals, and it also considerably reduces the mechanical properties of the material. makes it weaker.

The new study, by researchers at the University of Maryland, demonstrates how to make wood transparent using a simple chemical – hydrogen peroxide – commonly used to bleach hair. This chemical modifies the chromophores, changing their structure so they no longer act to absorb light and colour the wood.

The Conversation

The new study, by researchers at the University of Maryland, demonstrates how to make wood transparent using a simple chemical – hydrogen peroxide – commonly used to bleach hair. This chemical modifies the chromophores, changing their structure so they no longer act to absorb light and colour the wood.

Engineered transparent wood with cellulose matrix for glass applications: A review

Engineered transparent wood (ETW) Poplar wood



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[ - ] Steelerfish 2 points 2 daysMay 31, 2025 23:47:26 ago (+2/-0)

Wood absorbs water and degrades from exposure regardless of what you do to it- minus painting/sealing it… even if using a high end clear coat like Awlcraft 2000 clear, it is porous meaning the clear would only last a brief time vs glass. Not to mention the expansion of wood in heat…

[ - ] observation1 2 points 2 daysJun 1, 2025 01:30:31 ago (+3/-1)*

I couldn't find how they do it but I suspect they take sawdust, bleach it with hydrogen peroxide, then press it into an mdf board but mixed in with clear epoxy.

The result would be stable.

Edit: looked into it deeper. its more or less this; but super thin. 5mm to 1.5mm thick only, which is very brittle; so its frankly an epoxy window.

This is smoke and mirrors hiding behind a science journal publication.

Its a fraudsters way to raise capital from investors who don't know any better. You're looking at a thin epoxy window with cellulous.

[ - ] Prairie 2 points 2 daysJun 1, 2025 02:22:32 ago (+3/-1)

Yep, it's basically wood-colored epoxy. "But it's transparent wood, OMG!!!"

[ - ] UncleDoug [op] 0 points 2 daysJun 1, 2025 08:19:10 ago (+0/-0)

It is not that at all.

Specifically it is chemically treated balsa or poplar in the original alpha testing.

[ - ] observation1 0 points 2 daysJun 1, 2025 14:44:24 ago (+0/-0)*

Learn to read, Doug. I hypothesized it was pressed sawdust and epoxy. Then edited my comment to say it was a thin wafer soaked in epoxy. Your video demonstrates this.

https://files.catbox.moe/z59e3u.jpg

The final product is 90% resin. So I was basically right the first time. In fact the sawdust idea would have saved a lot of labor and chemicals to net a better result.

[ - ] UncleDoug [op] 0 points 1 dayJun 1, 2025 22:16:05 ago (+0/-0)

It's stabilised wood impregnated with plasticides like they would otherwise do with wooden knife handles to make them dishwasher safe. They are not gluing mdf or chipboard together, they are injecting inorganic polymers into ligneous tissue that has been chemically treated.

[ - ] observation1 0 points 1 dayJun 1, 2025 22:26:22 ago (+0/-0)

God, you're stupid. Let me know when you learn how to read

[ - ] Prairie 0 points 1 dayJun 2, 2025 00:50:01 ago (+0/-0)

Is the essential difference that it has the original wood fiber structure?

[ - ] observation1 1 point 1 dayJun 2, 2025 01:23:35 ago (+1/-0)

You could say that.

0.5mm is less than 1/32nds of an inch though, so you basicaly take a piece of paper

[ - ] UncleDoug [op] 0 points 1 dayJun 2, 2025 03:00:31 ago (+0/-0)

You are the fucking idiot that cant read, it is essentially NOT glued sawdust nor is it 0.5mm paper thin.

ETW ranges between 2.2mm to 68mm thick; FUCK YA

[ - ] observation1 0 points 1 dayJun 2, 2025 08:45:31 ago (+0/-0)*

Ive said that its not sawdust 3 times now you collossal fuck up.

As far as your sizes you are way off. You dont even read or watch any of the literarure you link to. Its clearly stated in all the paperwork and videos and as in the photo of your post; 0.5mm to 1.5mm, most being under 1mm for best transparency.

[ - ] UncleDoug [op] 1 point 1 dayJun 2, 2025 02:58:20 ago (+1/-0)

Stabilised wood involves impregnating the wood with a resin under high pressure, which fills the wood's pores and voids such as xylem and phloem. In this case, it's specifically two kinds of wood chosen for windows and chemically treated ina way that is a little more difficult than simply wiping bleach on the sheets.

Chipboard is pulped coarse saw dust glue back together to make cheap sheets from waste stock.

[ - ] UncleDoug [op] 0 points 2 daysJun 1, 2025 08:17:32 ago (+0/-0)

It’s in the last article I posted.
It is definitely not chipboard and bleach.

https://youtu.be/uUU3jW7Y9Ak?si=vehqRbcFDpXogP5y

[ - ] UncleDoug [op] 1 point 2 daysMay 31, 2025 23:50:45 ago (+1/-0)

Softwood 7-50 yrs to break down, hardwood like oak, centuries to break down. I don't think its going to be an issue.

[ - ] NeverHappened 1 point 2 daysJun 1, 2025 08:35:41 ago (+1/-0)

I was thinking there are conditions where wood lasts for centuries so I don't see early degradation being too much of a problem here.
Regardless to how it turns out this is still neat.

[ - ] Anus_Expander 1 point 2 daysJun 1, 2025 09:05:58 ago (+1/-0)

Neat, but very fragile and expensive.

[ - ] VitaminSieg 1 point 2 daysJun 1, 2025 11:29:17 ago (+1/-0)

So they bleach it. Science!

Also, it's translucent, not transparent. But since when do scientists care about words or meaning or interpretation.

[ - ] UncleDoug [op] 0 points 1 dayJun 1, 2025 22:12:45 ago (+0/-0)

The one on the left is transparent, the one on the right is translucent.

They not so much as bleach the wood White as they de-lignify the cell membrane. These cell walls, alongside cellulose and hemicellulose an organic polymer is changed chemically.

Delignification is the removal of the light-absorbing lignin from the cell walls of natural wood using a solution-based immersion method. Polymer impregnation follows right after delignification and it involves infiltrating a refractive index matching polymer into the delignified wood matrix to minimize light absorption and scattering, respectively.

So they remove lignins ability to re-oxidise and absorb colours liek brown then impregnate them with plasticides like wood stabalised wooden knife handles to maintain its transparency.

[ - ] lolxd 0 points 2 daysJun 1, 2025 12:27:37 ago (+0/-0)

It's an interesting concept, but glass is already infinitely cheap and plentiful. I don't see this being better than filling the gap between two panes of glass with a heavy gas like argon like we already do.

[ - ] UncleDoug [op] 0 points 1 dayJun 1, 2025 22:10:18 ago (+0/-0)

It's better insulating so you don't have to run heaters and air conditioning all the time, its also 20x more plentiful than steel for framing.