I thought this would be an excellent new laserable material. http://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-have-developed-transparent-wood-that-can-build-stronger-windows
Interesting.
Imagine that transparent hinge for a moment…
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Or maybe transparent paper/cardboard?
Engrave your business logo on shatterproof transparent wood window?
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I’m actually most excited about the solar panel idea.
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Flammable windows?
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The problem is finding the transparent trees in the forest 
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That’s fascinating.
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If the tree is transparent, does it exist?
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Thinking of transparent slivers just really bothers me… (hard enough to get the visible ones). But transparent baseball bats… hmmm ( The things that occupy our minds waiting for the day the GF arrives…)
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I see a huge market for this! All the rednecks driving around with plywood in there broken window will be able to see again!
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Wow this is pretty awesome. Its interesting that they stripped the lignin out, and I am wondering if the trees are now immuno-compromised because of it.
Lignin at one point caused a massive change in our planet during the carboniferous period, because there were no creatures that could break it down. The atmosphere became incredibly enriched with oxygen allowing for living creatures to get much larger, and piles of trees could be found everywhere, in tact, piled on the ground. This went on for millennia until fungi evolved to finally be able to metabolize the lignin in the trees that were blanketing the planet.
It gives you quite a new perspective on what pollution is, as today we plant trees to rid ourselves of the pollutants we have helped introduce, where the same trees were once the largest source of pollution the planet had ever seen.
Its great that we are moving towards resources that can be recycled much more easily, and even on the cusp of developing ways to deal with the materials we have brought forth, which up until this point, have not been able to biodegrade.
I cant wait to get my hands on some of this stuff!
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Transparent slivers, this is exactly why I hate working with fiberglass.
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@takitus And remarkably, fungi are poised to break down many of our worst pollutants. http://www.fungi.com/blog/items/the-petroleum-problem.html
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Only if it falls, and you hear it.
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I’m sceptical about everything I read today!
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yeah hopefully we can end this plastic epidemic quickly, as well as the nuclear waste one. both of those issues are starting to have some promising looking solutions…