Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Crushed wood is stronger than steel

nature.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

151–160 of 180 posts

Re: Crushed wood is stronger than steel

#151

Post by noir_lord »

jacquesm wrote: post #91
brudgers wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

none of those ever made it to very high levels of industrial adoption. Non-exotic methods of strengthening wood, made it to high levels of production in spades: plywood, oriented strand board, microlam and glulam beams, and medium density fiber board (MDF) are direct examples. Wood I-joists and plate connected wood trusses are less direct. From a functional standpoint, standardization of lumber grades is a social tec…

Yes, engineered wood is a mainstay of construction. But all of those processes were and are set up to be able to process a large volume in a relatively short time and leave very little to no waste, and what waste there is is sold off as fuel. Plywood - especially the higher grades - is amazing stuff. I visited a plywood factory in Ontario and it really opened my eyes to how clever and precise the manufacturing of var…

It is, the WWII Mosquito Fighter-Bomber was made from high grade ply and it flew faster than contemporary aluminium fighters, was incredibly durable (except for some de-lamination problems in hot humid far-east environs) and was actually stunningly beautiful.

Re: Crushed wood is stronger than steel

#152

Post by noir_lord »

aidenn0 wrote: post #132
tCfD wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> epitome boffin Speaking of which, he's first cousin to Magnus Pyke - the guy usually remembered in the US (if at all) as the Professor shouting "science!" in Thomas Dolby's "she blinded me with science;" both on the song and in the video. In the UK he was, like his cousin Geoffrey, much better known for being the quintessential boffin, though Magnus self consciously played up this stereotype in his long television…

what does "boffin" mean in this context, is it like the US nerd, or (more recently) geek?

WWII era british slang for scientist/high level engineer.

Archetypal example would be someone like Sir Barnes Neville Wallis or someone more recognisable around these parts Tommy Flowers.

Re: Crushed wood is stronger than steel

#153

Post by rpvnwnkl »

pbhjpbhj wrote: post #48
Filligree wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's still wood, and wood is only barely biodegradable. If you take decent care of it it'll last for centuries.

A fallen tree in damp conditions rots down in a year or so. Seems pretty biodegradable. Your second sentence I have no problem with.

If you mean ‘rot away’, then your statement is not true at all. Trees take a long time to rot away. If you meant ‘start to rot’, then yes, you’re right. https://www.google.com/search?q=how+long+does+it+take+a+tree...

Google says minimum 50 years.

Re: Crushed wood is stronger than steel

#154

Post by milesvp »

jacquesm wrote: post #91
brudgers wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

none of those ever made it to very high levels of industrial adoption. Non-exotic methods of strengthening wood, made it to high levels of production in spades: plywood, oriented strand board, microlam and glulam beams, and medium density fiber board (MDF) are direct examples. Wood I-joists and plate connected wood trusses are less direct. From a functional standpoint, standardization of lumber grades is a social tec…

Yes, engineered wood is a mainstay of construction. But all of those processes were and are set up to be able to process a large volume in a relatively short time and leave very little to no waste, and what waste there is is sold off as fuel. Plywood - especially the higher grades - is amazing stuff. I visited a plywood factory in Ontario and it really opened my eyes to how clever and precise the manufacturing of var…

I too was surprised to find out just how much variety and quality of plywood there is. I always thought it was a relatively cheap, kind of crappy alternative to good lumber. But since I've started following hobby laser cutting, I've been finding out that good plywood really makes a difference if you want good results.

Re: Crushed wood is stronger than steel

#155

Post by ZenoArrow »

aidenn0 wrote: post #132
tCfD wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> epitome boffin Speaking of which, he's first cousin to Magnus Pyke - the guy usually remembered in the US (if at all) as the Professor shouting "science!" in Thomas Dolby's "she blinded me with science;" both on the song and in the video. In the UK he was, like his cousin Geoffrey, much better known for being the quintessential boffin, though Magnus self consciously played up this stereotype in his long television…

what does "boffin" mean in this context, is it like the US nerd, or (more recently) geek?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boffin

"Boffin is a British slang term for a scientist, engineer, or other person engaged in technical or scientific research and development. A "boffin" was generally viewed by the regular services as odd, quirky or peculiar, though quite bright and essential to helping in the war effort. The World War II conception of boffins as war-winning researchers lends the term a more positive connotation than related terms such as nerd, egghead, geek or spod."

To explain the modern use (which is very rare, outside of the tabloid news industry), a boffin is somewhat similar to geek, but it's used to describe knowledgeable people in academic / research fields, and occasionally in computing too. It's often said in a jokey way (I've never heard anyone describe themselves as a boffin), but it's not really an insult, there's a certain level of recognition that they know things that the person calling them a boffin does not.

Re: Crushed wood is stronger than steel

#156

Post by ZenoArrow »

willvarfar wrote: post #94
logfromblammo wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you mean to say " eponymic " instead of " epitome "?

I meant he was the epitome boffin. But yeah, he was eponymic to Pykrete too :)

> "I meant he was the epitome boffin."

Just FYI, it's common to use "of" or "of a" after "epitome", for example "he was the epitome of a boffin".

Re: Crushed wood is stronger than steel

#157

Post by theoh »

noir_lord wrote: post #151
jacquesm wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, engineered wood is a mainstay of construction. But all of those processes were and are set up to be able to process a large volume in a relatively short time and leave very little to no waste, and what waste there is is sold off as fuel. Plywood - especially the higher grades - is amazing stuff. I visited a plywood factory in Ontario and it really opened my eyes to how clever and precise the manufacturing of var…

It is, the WWII Mosquito Fighter-Bomber was made from high grade ply and it flew faster than contemporary aluminium fighters, was incredibly durable (except for some de-lamination problems in hot humid far-east environs) and was actually stunningly beautiful.

Also mostly plywood: the Spruce Goose https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hughes_H-4_Hercules

Re: Crushed wood is stronger than steel

#158

Post by jordanb »

owenversteeg wrote: post #117
brudgers wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

none of those ever made it to very high levels of industrial adoption. Non-exotic methods of strengthening wood, made it to high levels of production in spades: plywood, oriented strand board, microlam and glulam beams, and medium density fiber board (MDF) are direct examples. Wood I-joists and plate connected wood trusses are less direct. From a functional standpoint, standardization of lumber grades is a social tec…

Yep, plywood gets a bad rap: it's incredibly strong stuff. Aircraft plywood can be used to build entire aircraft, marine plywood can withstand harsh weather conditions for years, and birch or hardwood plywood can look very pretty.

Some plywood is amazing. Most is crap. Generally the stuff you buy at home depot for $25/sheet is crap.

And people tend to confuse plywood with OSB, MDO, MDF, etc.

And while marine plywood (BS-1088) is great stuff, and fir marine plywood is also pretty nice stuff, it's not magic. BS-1088 is will rot in a morning dew and fir checks horribly. You have to protect it carefully and keep it protected.

Re: Crushed wood is stronger than steel

#159

Post by nugi »

ZenoArrow wrote: post #146
bdamm wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If by "recent" you mean developed about 200 years ago, then yes.

From what I've seen, it's become more popular recently (last 10 years).

Its a technique older than guitars, not recent at all. Maybe you just took notice?

Re: Crushed wood is stronger than steel

#160

Post by paulddraper »

theoh wrote: post #157
noir_lord wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is, the WWII Mosquito Fighter-Bomber was made from high grade ply and it flew faster than contemporary aluminium fighters, was incredibly durable (except for some de-lamination problems in hot humid far-east environs) and was actually stunningly beautiful.

Also mostly plywood: the Spruce Goose https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hughes_H-4_Hercules

which is simply massive: 320 ft wingspan, the largest of any flown aircraft.
Post reply on HN