The Surprising Possibilities of See-Through Wood

See-through wood was first discovered by a botanist named Siegfried Fink in 1992. Unfortunately, it was long forgotten about - that is until researcher Lars Berglund stumbled upon Fink’s papers about the topic. However, unlike Fink, Berglund was focused on the technological implications of the revelation.

Lars Berglund works for the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden and is trying to find alternatives to plastic for everyday tech products. Along with other researchers from around the world, Berglund is finding ways of substituting plastic with see-through wood for smartphones, light fixtures, and structural features, such as color-changing windows.

A student who worked in Berglund's lab, named Qiliang Fu, has faith in the project. Fu exclaimed, "I truly believe this material has a promising future." Material scientist Céline Montanari echoes Fu's sentiments by saying, "When you're trying to achieve sustainability, you don't only want to match the properties of fossil-based materials. As a scientist, I want to surpass this."