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A lot of research time and money has been spent on windows. As a result, a simplelooking window can be a pretty sophisticated element in a building's skin.
There are double- and triple-glazed windows, designed to reduce heat loss while admitting light. There are double-glazed gas-filled windows. There are switchable windows that darken at the touch of a switch, sort of like a building putting on its sunglasses.
But scientists are still working at ways to make windows that transfer less heat while maintaining transparency.
Now researchers at the University of Maryland have come up with a method that they say will do that. They say their technique could provide more even and consistent lighting and better energy efficiency than glass.
Instead of using glass, they're using transparent... wood? Yep. Wood. Their research has been published in the journal Advanced Energy Materials.
They say their transparent wood provides better thermal insulation and lets in nearly as much light as glass,...