TL9+ Wood [Ultratech]

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

From the recent reports, the laminated densified wood is as strong and tough as high quality steel at the same thickness, but it is 1/3 the mass and costs the same per mass (three times as much as steel of the same thickness).

Those numbers don't add up. If it's the same cost per unit mass and 1/3rd the density, it should be 1/3rd the cost per unit thickness. Did you perhaps mean the same cost per unit thickness, and thus 3x the cost per unit mass? As good* as steel, and the same cost but 1/3rd the weight would allow it to rapidly replace steel in a lot of areas, assuming it lives up to the hype.

*It's arguably better, as it won't rust. Wood rot could potentially be an issue, but it might not cost too much to treat it to prevent that.

Originally Posted by Luke Bunyip

If it can be bent, and it has a residual amount of spring greater than that of steel, IMHO it would be great for making the framing for chairs.

I was thinking more along the lines of all-wood furniture. While it could work for such, I suspect it would be comically thin in order to see a weight savings. As a framing material it should work just fine, however.

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

What types of applications do you think an advanced society would use densified wood for?

As a minor use, it will be very popular with people who make replicas of old aircraft.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Luke Bunyip

If it can be bent, and it has a residual amount of spring greater than that of steel, IMHO it would be great for making the framing for chairs.

Weight for weight it might not be any better than wood, as a rod of the same weight would only have 58% of the diameter, and resistance to torque scales with cross-section * tensile strength * diameter. The other question would be cosmetic; people make solid wood chairs (as opposed to things with tubes) for appearances, even though it's heavier.

[ericthered]

Framing a one story house is usually done with cheap timber, framing a larger building with steel costs x2 to x10 times more per square foot. This product could be a nice cost saver on big apartment buildings in the three to six story range.

[Luke Bunyip]

Originally Posted by Anthony

Weight for weight it might not be any better than wood...

Aha. Very interesting. Ta muchly.

[Fred Brackin]

I wonder if you drive nails into densified wood? It ought to be at least 3x as dificult. Sawing might be an issue too.

It's possible that it might not be any easier to work with than steel and if does require a whole new suite of techniques to work it might lose out to traditional wood and steel both.

[Johnny Angel]

Would making a baseball bat with densified wood change the effectiveness of hitting a ball?

[AlexanderHowl]

Interesting question. It would change the sweet spot and, since it is 3x as dense, it would be 3x the mass (around 9 lbs), meaning that it would be a slower swing. I guess that it would be ruled illegal because it would fit under the laminated and experimental bat prohibition of the MLB rules.