Scientists have designed “transparent wood” that could replace conventional glass in windows. The innovation was developed using wood from the balsa tree, which is native to South and Central America, and claims to be five times more thermally efficient than glass.
The team treated balsa wood in an oxidizing bath (氧化池) that bleaches (漂白) it of nearly all visibility and then poured it into a synthetic polymer (合成物) called polyvinyl alcohol (PVA 聚乙烯醇), creating a product that is virtually transparent.
Unlike traditional glass, the transparent wood can bear much stronger impacts and will bend or separate when damaged, instead of being destroyed into tiny pieces.
The transparent wood was created by teams at the University of Maryland and University of Colorado, which set out to find a greener alternative to conventional glass—a production that creates 25,000 tons in emissions each year.
Along with contributing to greenhouse gases, glass contributes to a loss of energy.
“Residential building windows in particular account for 10-25% of the heat loss due to their poor thermal (保热的) management capability,” the team wrote in the study.
“Exploring energy efficient window materials is thus highly desirable to address heating costs, energy shortages, and the global impact of climate change associated with increased carbon emissions.”
The team notes that the bonding between PVA and cellulose (纤维素) in the wood, creates a tightly packed structure that allows for more thermal protection and makes it more durable and lighter than glass.
“Switching to transparent wood could prove to be cost efficient as well,” researchers shared in a statement.
“It is approximately five times more thermally efficient than glass, cutting energy costs.”
“It is made from a sustainable, renewable resource with low carbon emissions. It’s also compatible (兼容的；可共存的) with existing industrial processing equipment, making the transition (过渡) into manufacturing an easy process.”
【小题1】How many key steps are to take to make balsa wood transparent based on the passage?| A．One. | B．Two. | C．Three. | D．Four. |
① being more thermally efficient
② bearing much stronger impacts
③ breaking into tiny pieces when damaged
④ cutting energy costs
⑤ contributing to a loss of energy
⑥ being more durable and lighter
| A．①②③④⑥ | B．①②④⑤⑥ |
| C．①②④⑥ | D．①②④⑤ |
| A．They developed the transparent wood from the balsa tree native to South and Central America |
| B．They set out to find a greener alternative to conventional glass because glass contributes to loss of energy. |
| C．They claimed the transparent wood was five times more thermally efficient than glass. |
| D．They concluded the process of producing the transparent wood is more difficult than that of producing glass. |
| A．a new technology of replacing transparent wood |
| B．a production of a new type of building material |
| C．an innovation (改革；创新) of new residential (适于住宅的) building glass |
| D．an invention of a new energy efficient window material |
