Although wood expands and contracts with varying temperature, these dimensional changes are small compared with shrinkage and swelling caused by varying moisture content. In most cases, such temperature-related expansion and contraction are negligible and without practical importance. Only temperatures below 0 °C (32 °F) have the potential to cause surface checks; in living trees, unequal contraction of outer and inner layers may result in frost cracks.

Wood exhibits a low thermal conductivity (high heat-insulating capacity) compared with materials such as metals, marble, glass, and concrete. Thermal conductivity is highest in the axial direction and increases with density and moisture content; thus, light, dry woods are better insulators.

When exposed to sufficiently high temperatures, wood burns. This property makes wood suitable for heating purposes but is disadvantageous for its technical utilization. The maximum heating value of one kilogram of oven-dry wood averages about 4,500 kilocalories (with a range of 4,100–6,800 kilocalories). In general, softwoods possess a higher heating value than hardwoods, and extractives have an important influence; for example, a kilogram of the oleoresin in pines has a heating value of about 8,500 kilocalories. Moisture reduces the heating value; air-dry wood has about 15 percent less heating value than oven-dry wood.

Wood must be raised to a temperature of about 250 °C (about 480 °F) for a spark or flame to ignite it, but at a temperature of about 500 °C (about 930 °F) ignition is spontaneous. The flammability of wood can be reduced by chemical treatment (see the section Preservation).

Electric properties

Oven-dry wood is electrically insulating. As moisture content increases, however, electric conductivity increases such that the behaviour of saturated wood (wood with maximum moisture content) approaches that of water. Noteworthy is the spectacular decrease of electric resistance as moisture content increases from zero to the fibre saturation point. Within this range, electric resistance decreases more than a billion times, whereas from the fibre saturation point to maximum moisture content, it decreases no more than about 50 times. Other factors, such as species and density, have little effect on the electric resistance of wood; differences among species are attributed to the chemistry of the extractives. Axial resistance is about half that of the transverse. Resistance increases with decreasing temperature; in oven-dry wood it doubles over a temperature drop of 12.5 °C (22.5 °F). Practical use of the relationship of wood’s moisture content to its electric resistance is made in electric moisture meters.

Important also are the dielectric, or poor-conductor, properties of wood. These properties—dielectric constant and power factor—assume a practical importance in drying wood with electric current (a theoretical possibility, although not presently a reality), gluing wood with high-frequency electric current, or making electric meters (capacity and radio-frequency power-loss type) for measuring its moisture content.

Wood exhibits the piezoelectric effect—that is, electric polarization (the appearance of opposite electric charges on opposite sides of a piece) occurs under mechanical stress. Conversely, when subjected to an electric field, wood exhibits mechanical deformation (changes in size).

Acoustic properties

Wood can produce sound (by direct striking) and can amplify or absorb sound waves originating from other bodies. For these reasons, it is a unique material for musical instruments and other acoustic applications. The pitch of sound produced depends on the frequency of vibration, which is affected by the dimensions, density, moisture content, and modulus of elasticity of the wood. Smaller dimensions, lower moisture content, and higher density and elasticity produce sounds of higher pitch.

When sound waves of extrinsic origin strike wood, they are partly absorbed and partly reflected, and the wood is set in vibration. The sound can be amplified, as in violins, guitars, organ pipes, and other musical instruments, or it can be absorbed, as in wooden partitions. Normally, wood absorbs a very small portion of acoustic energy (3–5 percent), but special constructions incorporating empty spaces and porous insulation boards can increase absorption to as high as 90 percent. The speed of sound in wood is about 3,500–5,000 metres (about 11,500–16,400 feet) per second axially and 1,000–1,500 metres (3,300–4,900 feet) per second transversely; the axial value approaches the speed of sound in iron and is 10 times higher than that in air. The velocity of sound in wood is reduced by moisture, which therefore contributes to faster damping of sound. For musical instruments, a preference exists for selected spruce wood, but fir, pine, maple, and tropical woods also are used. Abnormalities such as decay affect acoustic properties; use of this fact is made in nondestructive testing of wood.

Degradation

Wood is subject to degradation by bacteria, fungi, insects, marine borers, and climatic, mechanical, chemical, and thermal factors. Degradation can affect wood of living trees, logs, or products, causing changes in appearance, structure, or chemical composition; these changes range from simple discoloration to alterations that render wood completely useless. It should be noted that wood can last for hundreds or thousands of years, as demonstrated, for example, by furniture and other wooden items found in excellent condition in the tombs of ancient Egyptian pharaohs (see Egyptian art). Wood is degraded or destroyed not with the passage of time but only under the action of external factors.

Bacteria are considered to be the cause of discolorations in the form of darker-coloured heartwood in living trees (a phenomenon called wetwood in fir and black heartwood in hybrid poplars). The colour lightens on exposure to air, and the properties of the wood are not seriously affected. Bacteria also appear during prolonged storage of wood in water, including seawater (e.g., in the case of old sunken ships). Acting in combination with physical and chemical factors related to submersion, they can cause considerable structural changes, leading to breakdown of the wood after exposure to air.

Fungi that attack wood are responsible for discoloration (stain) or decay. Blue stain (sap stain) of pines is the most common and serious consequence of attack by stain fungi. The sapwood becomes bluish or blackish, usually in wedge-shaped patches. Blue stain may appear very quickly in warm weather, sometimes within hours or days after the tree is felled or the green wood is sawed or otherwise processed. The degradation is mainly aesthetic (with a large reduction in the market value of the wood); among properties, only toughness appears to be affected.

Decay fungi are, by far, the most important cause of wood loss. Decay is not an innate property of wood, however; it takes place only if the conditions of exposure—namely, moisture, air, and temperature—are suitable for growth and activity of fungi. A moisture content below 20 percent inhibits growth of fungi, as do temperatures lower than 10 °C (50 °F) and higher than 30 °C (86 °F). If wood is kept under water, it cannot be attacked by fungi, because of insufficient oxygen. Toxic extractives contained in wood are a delaying factor and are the main reason for differences in resistance to decay among species, but no wood is immune.

Insects, like fungi, can attack the wood of living trees, logs, or products. Once trees are felled, the region between wood and bark (rich in nutrients) is especially vulnerable to insect attack, and for this reason prompt debarking is a protective measure. Insects bore holes and tunnels, and some reduce the interior of wood to dust, leaving only a thin outer layer. Conditions of exposure are the same as for fungi—suitable temperature, moisture, and air. Infested wood can be rendered free of insects at temperatures of 50–60 °C (122–140 °F), by the introduction of insecticides, or by exposure to toxic gases. Surface coatings of paint or varnish also offer some protection, reducing egg-laying sites.

Marine borers (certain species of mollusks and crustaceans) attack wooden structures in seawater (wharf pilings, boats, and other submerged wood) and cause severe damage. All wood species are vulnerable, but toxic extractives (as in certain tropical woods) provide some temporary protection. Preservative treatment imparts considerable resistance to these organisms.

Wood is also subject to degradation by changing climatic conditions (e.g., by rain and sunlight causing repeated wetting and drying), mechanical stresses (e.g., imposed on railroad ties), and exposure to chemicals (e.g., acids and alkalies). Furthermore, wood is destroyed by fire. Large-dimension timbers (such as glued laminated beams) offer more resistance for a certain time, and fire-retardant treatments are also available.