Photo: Yunus Tuğ

What is the weakest wood on earth?

Balsa It's common knowledge, but Balsa is indeed the softest and lightest of all commercial woods. Nothing else even comes close. Useful for insulation, buoyancy, and other special applications.

wood-database.com - Top Ten Softest Woods | The Wood Database

Does Sonata cause hallucinations?

Sonata is a central nervous system depressant. When someone abuses Sonata, they may seem as if they are impaired or intoxicated. Some of the...

Last updated Apr 3, 2018

Can you learn piano on keyboard?

CAN YOU LEARN PIANO ON A KEYBOARD? Yes, learning piano on a keyboard is possible. The layout of keys is identical on both instruments.

Last updated Jul 12, 2018

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by Eric Meier

The most common test for testing wood hardness is known as the Janka hardness test. The actual number listed in the wood profile is the amount of pounds-force (lb f ) or newtons (N) required to imbed a .444″ (11.28 mm) diameter steel ball into the wood to half the ball’s diameter. While most people would be looking for the hardest wood, just out of curiosity, here’s a list of the ten softest woods on the site. Keep in mind that five out of these ten woods (including the three softest) are considered hardwoods. This just goes to show that the terms hardwood and softwood merely refer to the botanical classification of the trees as either conifers (softwoods) or angiosperms (hardwoods). There’s no guarantee that any given hardwood will actually be hard! Note: A hardwood named Quipo (Cavanillesia platanifolia) is commonly reported as the softest known wood, with an alleged Janka hardness of 22 lb f (98 N). However, the wood is omitted from this list for two main reasons. First, it is virtually unobtainable and not commercially available outside of its natural range in Central/South America. Secondly, the purported hardness seems highly questionable, especially in light of the fact that Quipo seems to be very susceptible to rot, and on one USDA test, it was remarked that “the results for quipo may have been influenced by the presence of considerable decay.” Furthermore, when comparing Quipo with Balsa, it has been shown that the two woods are virtually identical in hardness, with the absolute lowest recorded Janka hardness values, in the range of 20-35 lbf (89-156 N), were actually from Balsa, and not Quipo.

The poster, Worldwide Woods, Ranked by Hardness, should be required reading for anyone enrolled in the school of wood nerdery. I have amassed over 500 wood species on a single poster, arranged into eight major geographic regions, with each wood sorted and ranked according to its Janka hardness. Each wood has been meticulously documented and photographed, listed with its Janka hardness value (in lbf) and geographic and global hardness rankings. Consider this: the venerable Red Oak (Quercus rubra) sits at only #33 in North America and #278 worldwide for hardness! Aspiring wood nerds be advised: your syllabus may be calling for Worldwide Woods as part of your next assignment!

How do you whiten the yellow keys on a digital piano?

For most pianos, regular dish soap and a washcloth will do the trick. Be advised, however, that if you have an electric piano, any liquid (even...

Last updated Jan 20, 2018

What voice is attractive to men?

Their study revealed that males find female voices that indicate a smaller body size—high-pitched, breathy voices with wide formant spacing—most...

Last updated Feb 11, 2019

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What were Egyptian bows made of?

The two most common varieties were the self bow, made of one piece of wood, and the laminated composite bow. The composite bow was introduced to Egypt from Western Asia probably around 1700 BC. It was made of layers of different materials, such as wood, horn and sinew.

griffith.ox.ac.uk - Chariot to Heaven, The composite bow. - The Griffith Institute

The composite bow.

The composite bow was introduced to Egypt from Western Asia probably around 1700 BC. It was made of layers of different materials, such as wood, horn and sinew. It was superior to the self bow and could hit a target at a distance of some 250 m. The bow had a characteristic double-curve shape which became triangular when strung (the ends were bent back when the bow was being strung). The photograph shows a self bow (top) and five composite bows from the tomb of Tutankhamun. H. Burton photo. 484. © Griffith Institute, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.