What is stronger aluminum or wood?

Answer 1

This question is more complex than you may think. For one thing, there are many kinds of wood and they do not all have the same strength. Hardwood is stronger than softwood. For another thing, you haven't stated whether we are considering equal weights of aluminum vs. wood, or equal volumes. Aluminum is denser than wood. If you constructed two objects to the same dimensions, building one out of wood and one out of aluminum, the aluminum would be stronger. But if you constructed two objects of equal weight, one of aluminum and one of wood, the wood might be stronger. In addition, there are a number of different ways of measuring the strength of an object, so to really answer this question I would have to know what you were building, and how these alternative aluminum or wooden objects were going to be used. But in general, the strength of these two materials is comparable. Aluminum, however, is going to be more durable, because it is not susceptible to rot or termites, unlike wood.