科學家研發出透明木材 或可替代玻璃

你可以想象，木頭比玻璃更適合做窗戶的材料嗎？美國科學家最新研發的“透明木材”不但透明度可以媲美窗戶，而且比窗戶鎖熱能力更強、更環保、更耐用、更安全也更輕。

Scientists have designed ‘transparent wood’ that could replace conventional glass in windows.

科學家研發出了可以替代傳統窗玻璃的“透明木材”。

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.

這一發明採用了原生於南美和中美的巴爾沙樹的木材，據稱熱效率比玻璃高出五倍。

The team treated balsa wood in an oxidizing bath that bleaches it of nearly all visibility and then penetrated it with a synthetic polymer called polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) - creating a product that is virtually transparent.

該團隊把木材泡在氧化劑裏，褪去幾乎所有可見的顏色，然後注入一種名爲聚乙烯醇的合成聚合物，開發出幾乎完全透明的一種產品。

Unlike traditional glass, the transparent wood can withstand much stronger impacts and will bend or splinter when damaged, instead of shattering.

和傳統玻璃不同，這種透明木材可以承受更強烈的衝擊，在受損時會彎曲或裂開，而不會粉碎。

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.

這種透明木材是由美國馬里蘭大學和科羅拉多大學的研究團隊開發的，他們的初衷是找到可以替代傳統玻璃的更環保的材料。玻璃產品每年都會產生2.5萬噸的排放物。

Along with contributing to greenhouse gases, glass contributes to a loss of energy.

除了製造溫室氣體外，玻璃還會導致能量的流失。

'Residential building windows in particular account for 10–25% of the heat loss due to their poor thermal management capability,’ the team wrote in the study.

研究團隊在報告中寫道：“居民樓的玻璃窗戶由於鎖熱能力不強，能量流失尤其嚴重，損失的熱能佔到了10%到25%。”

'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.’

“因此人們極其需要探尋節能窗戶材料，以解決供熱成本、能源短缺問題，還有與碳排放增加相關的氣候變化引發的全球性影響。”

The team notes that the bonding between PVA and cellulose in the wood, creates a tightly packed structure that allows for more thermal protection and makes it more durable and lighter than glass.

研究團隊指出，聚乙烯醇和木材中的纖維素結合，創造出一種高密度的結構，既能更好地鎖住熱能，也比玻璃更耐用、更輕。

'Switching to transparent wood could prove to be cost efficient as well,’ researchers shared in a statement.

研究人員在一份聲明中分享道：“事實將證明，改用透明木頭還能節省成本。”

'It is approximately five times more thermally efficient than glass, cutting energy costs.’

“透明木頭的熱效率比玻璃高出五倍，減少了能源成本。”

'It is made from a sustainable, renewable resource with low carbon emissions. It’s also compatible with existing industrial processing equipment, making the transition into manufacturing an easy prospect.’

“這種新材料源自碳排放量低的可持續、可再生的資源。而且這種木材也適用於現有的工業處理設備，這使得未來投入生產更容易。”