When HN users recommended it
1 HN user recommended this in 2019, in one comment.
20072026
Each tall tick is one HN user's first recommendation. A short tick is the same user again. Click a tick to jump to the comment.
1 HN user recommended this in 2019, in one comment.
Each tall tick is one HN user's first recommendation. A short tick is the same user again. Click a tick to jump to the comment.
Link to Nature paper (http://nature.com/articles/doi:10.1038/nature25476) with some nice photos.
This could be an interesting Science Fair experiment:
1. Get the following from Amazon (or your favorite online store) NaoH, $14 (https://www.amazon.com/FDC-99-Pure-Sodium-Hydroxide/dp/B013K...). Also get Na2SO3, $16 (https://www.amazon.com/Sodium-Sulfite-Na2SO3-Powder-Space-Sa...) and deionized water, $24 (https://www.amazon.com/Deionized-Water-Gallon-ASTM-Type/dp/B...)
2. Get an oak block (See paper for other types of woods that can be used) from Home Depot, $14 (https://www.homedepot.com/p/Builders-Choice-1-in-x-2-in-x-8-...)
3. Place 2.5M NaOH and 0.4M Na2SO3 in a pot, boil. Place small block of oak in it. Boil for 7 hours. Of course, should do this outdoors or in a hood.
4. In a separate container bring ionized water to boil, immerse piece of wood several times in it.
5. Press wood block perpendicular to the wood growth direction at 100 °C under a pressure of about 5 MPa (~50x atmospheric pressure) for about 1 day
6. You have your super wood to test
Step 3 is possible for hard-core science fans to do at home, Step 5 is problematic for that scenario.