木头能比钢铁更结实？ Researchers say they have created a new super - material in the laboratory . They say it is stronger , lighter and costs less than steel .
研究者称他们在实验室发明了一种新型超级材料。他们说这种材料比钢铁还要结实、而且更轻便、更便宜。
But the new material is not a product of high technology or a metallic substance . It is wood .
但是这种材料不是高科技产品或金属矿石。它是木头。
Researchers Liangbing Hu and Teng Li are with the University of Maryland in the United States .
研究者胡良斌和李腾就职于美国马里兰大学。
By using a few chemicals , heat and pressure , they have made wood three times denser and 10 times stronger . Hu says that means it can compete with some of the world ' s strongest materials .
通过一些化学物质、高温和压力，他们将木头的密度增大了三倍，强度提高了10倍。胡良斌说这意味着它可以和世界上一些最结实的材料相媲美。
' We ' re interested in replacing steel and carbon fibers with strong wood structures , ' he said .
'我们对将钢铁和碳纤维换成结实的木结构很感兴趣，'他说。
The process does not require any special raw , unprocessed material . Hu said that means the cost of the product will be relatively low . He added , ' We can start with very cheap wood , and we can also start with very fancy , expensive wood . But in the end , ultimately we get very similar performance ' .
The researchers are calling their product ' super wood ' . It is made by partially removing a natural polymer called lignin .
Hu explained that ' lignin is like a binder to hold all the components together in natural wood . In our process , we found out to be able to densify the wood completely , we have to remove some of these binders ' .
Strong chemicals are put on the wood . The chemicals remove about half of its lignin . Then , after being left in extreme heat and pressurized for a day , the treated wood is ready . The researchers say the wood is strong enough to build automobiles , airplanes , wind turbines and more . A report on their findings was published in the journal Nature .
The researchers say super - strength wood would have less of an effect on the environment than the steel or other metals it could replace . However , their process is not pollution - free . It uses some of the same chemicals involved in making paper .
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