The Many Aspects of Wooden Objects

Wood has played a very important role in the history of man kind. It came to prominence when early man discovered fire, and has acted as a prime source of fuel until perhaps recent times. Wood has been used to cook food, produce light, construction of shelters, provide heat and even ward off animals. Later it was used as a source of fuel to generate electricity as well as material for building boats.

Nowadays wood is mainly used in rural areas, specially in the developing world. Wood is found naturally in large quantities there isn't any part of the world that has no wood around. Wood is actually organic in nature which comprises of the xylem and phloem cells of a tree. These are cells in the trunk that are used to transport water and other minerals from the roots to the top of the tree. It is comprised of 40 to 50 percent cellulose, 15 to 25 percent hemicellulose and 15 to 30 percent lignin. The water content of wood can determine its strength. In living wood water can be found in the cell walls, the protoplasmic content of the cell and cavities between cells and other spaces. Even after a tree is struck down and the wood is thoroughly air dried, wood retains some of its water content in its cell walls, but close to none in the other regions. Drying wood can greatly increase the ability of wood to withstand stress for example a dry 5 cm square block of spruce can withstand four times as much stress as a green undried block of the same size.

Wood is also a important raw material that is used in construction since we humans began building houses and boats. Wood was the sole source of building materials for boats until recently when it was replaced by metals. Wood is still used widely in the construction industry, many houses have wooden frames as well as wooden flooring. Wood is also used in ceilings, flooring, false walls as well as regular walls. The uses for wood are so many that they cannot be expressed but our forests are getting thinner and thinner as we use up more wood. Wood is a renewable source of fuel and materials but we use are using it up too fast, which has many negative effects on our planet. The reduction in forest reserves has partially lead to global warming and the subsequent melting of polar ice caps, and the destruction of habitats for many creatures.