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wood
Table of Contents
Introduction
Production and consumption of wood
Harvesting of wood
Management
Marking, felling, and processing
Utilization of wood
Primary products
Roundwood products
Sawn wood
Production at the sawmill
Yield and grading
Veneer
Plywood and laminated wood
Plywood
Laminated wood
Particleboard
Fibreboard
Pulp and paper
Treatments
Drying
Preservation
Chemical products
Products of chemical processing
Extractives
Wood as a material
Structure and composition
Macrostructure
Earlywood, latewood, and pores
Heartwood and sapwood
Rays and resin canals
Radial and tangential sections
Microstructure
Ultrastructure and chemical composition
Variation of structure and defects
Properties of wood
Sensory characteristics
Density and specific gravity
Hygroscopicity
Shrinkage and swelling
Mechanical properties
Thermal properties
Electric properties
Acoustic properties
Degradation
Bark and bark products
References & Edit History
Related Topics
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wood summary
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Contents
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Technology
Industry
Natural Products
wood: Media
plant tissue
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Videos
The energy-saving potential of transparent wood
Groundbreaking research on transparent wood.
Video: © American Chemical Society (
A Britannica Publishing Partner
)
The chemistry behind the perfect summertime grill session
Learn about the science of grilling meat.
Video: © American Chemical Society (
A Britannica Publishing Partner
)
Images
temperate softwoods and hardwoods selected to show variations
Temperate softwoods (left column) and hardwoods (right column), selected to highlight...
USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory
tropical hardwoods selected to show variations
Six tropical hardwoods, selected to emphasize the range of natural variation in colour...
USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory
Geographic distribution of the world's forests by categories of wood
Map showing the geographic distribution of the world's forests, differentiated by...
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
harvester on a tree plantation in Finland
Harvester at work on a tree plantation in Finland.
Embassy of Finland
forwarder with logs for transport
Forwarder with a load of logs for transport from the felling site.
Timberjack Corporation
deforestation
A section of clear-cut forest in Romania.
© Ionescu Bogdan/stock.adobe.com
band saw breaking a log down into lumber
Band saw breaking a log down into lumber.
Courtesy of Dr. George Tsoumis
diagram of basic log-sawing patterns
Basic log-sawing patterns. Live and cant sawing may be done with a frame saw for...
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
types of plywood
Three-ply all-veneer plywood and three-ply, lumber core plywood.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
types of particleboard
Three types of particleboard (left to right): single-layer particleboard, waferboard,...
© Steve Matteo
types of compressed fibreboard
Two common types of compressed fibreboard: hardboard (left) and medium-density fibreboard...
© Steve Matteo
diagram of a kiln for drying wood
Kiln for drying wood under controlled conditions of temperature and humidity.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
transverse slice of tree trunk
A transverse slice of tree trunk, depicting major features visible to the unaided...
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
transverse section of eastern white pine
Transverse section of eastern white pine, a softwood, under low magnification, showing...
Courtesy of Michael Clayton, University of Wisconsin
transverse section of northern red oak
Transverse section of northern red oak, a ring-porous hardwood, under low magnification....
Courtesy of Michael Clayton, University of Wisconsin
transverse section of basswood
Transverse section of basswood, a diffuse-porous hardwood, under low magnification....
Courtesy of Michael Clayton, University of Wisconsin
types of cells present in hardwoods and softwoods
Types of cells present in hardwoods and softwoods.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
electron micrograph of microfibrils of a softwood tracheid
Stringlike microfibrils comprising the central portion of the pit membrane of a softwood...
Courtesy of Dr. George Tsoumis
distortions in sawn wood due to shrinkage and swelling
Distortions in sawn wood due to shrinkage and swelling. At left are shown the initial...
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
combustion
Log burning in a fire. Burning wood is an example of a chemical reaction in which...
© chrispecoraro—iStock.com/Getty Images
Northumberland, England
Harvesting timber in Kielder Water & Forest Park, northwestern Northumberland, northeastern...
The Boy that time forgot
Cross section of a tree trunk. Wood is secondary xylem produced by growth of the...
© Merriam-Webster Inc.
VIEW MORE
in these related Britannica articles:
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