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vlehto · 4219 days ago · link · · parent · post: A second look | Six Incredible Things Before Breakfast
Only if the tree is less than 10m tall. 10m tall water column will boil from the top if it's only pumped from the top. The roots and the capillary effect pump it too, he mentions the capillaries but not the effect. There are other cool features of wood the author does not mention. Wood in nature is prestressed because the inner wood dries more than the outer. http://www.doitpoms.ac.uk/tlplib/wood/structure_wood_pt3.php If you compare strength, a good piece of wood can beat some high strength steels (500MPa) in strength/weight ratio. Problem is the high variation of wood.The release of water vapour at the surface of leaves through transpiration is sufficient to draw the column of water from the roots to the leaves.