The USDA Forest Products Laboratory collaborated with the University of Maryland and the University of Colorado to develop a wood material that is completely transparent and looks like glass.
The scientists used wood from the fast-growing, low-density balsa tree, treated it to room temperature and performed an oxidizing bath, which bleached it of nearly all visibility. Then they penetrated the wood with a synthetic polymer called polyvinyl alcohol, resulting in a nearly transparent product.
Transparent wood has the potential to outperform glass in nearly every way.
It is 3 orders of magnitude more durable than glass and much lighter in weight too. It can withstand much stronger impacts and, unlike glass, it bends or splinters instead of shattering.
Wood is also five times more thermally efficient than glass. It can help substantially cut energy costs and save up to 3.5 percent of the total energy used in the United States.