IT SOUNDS all wrongdrilling holes in a piece of wood to make it
more resistant to knocks. But it works because the energy from
the blow gets distributed throughout the wood rather than
focusing on one weak spot. The discovery should lead to more
effective and lighter packaging materials. Carpenters have known
for centuries that some woods are tougher than others. Hickory,
for example, was turned into axe handles and cartwheel spokes
because it can absorb shocks without breaking. White oak, on the
other hand, is much more easily damaged, although it is almost
as dense. Julian Vincent at Bath University and his team were
convinced the wood's internal structure could explain the
differences. Many trees have tubular vessels that run up the
trunk and carry water to the leaves. In oak they are large, and
arranged in narrow bands, but in hickory they are smaller, and
more evenly distributed. ... To continue reading this article,
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