Scientists Use Scotch Tape to X-ray Finger
Source: Tom's Guide | Keywords: Scientists, Scotch, Tape, UCLA, NYT
Scientists at the University of California in Los Angeles have discovered that unrolling scotch tape produces X-rays.
The New York Times reports that in the Dr. Seth Putterman and his team report that fierce flows of electrons were unleashed as the tape was unpeeled and its gooey adhesive snapped free of the surface. The electrical currents then generated short bursts of X-rays.
A significant amount of people have photocopied their butt at the office Christmas party and as cool as it would be to think we can add X-raying colleagues with a roll of sticky tape to the list of office antics, it’s not about to happen anytime soon. The scientists at UCLA conducted the scotch tape experiment inside a vacuum.
The Times reports that all of the experiments were conducted with Scotch tape, manufactured by 3M. The scientists said exactly what’s going on the molecular scale to generate high-energy photons is unknown partly because the Scotch tape adhesive is a trade secret.
The scientists tested a number of different types of tape, all with varying results. While duct tape didn’t emit any x-rays at all, the X-rays from the scotch tape allowed the team to X-ray a finger. More interestingly the scientist feel that the technology presents the possibilty of nuclear fusion.
Read the full story on the New York Times.
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do i sense a scare of 'killer scotch tape' now?
soon a correlation should be released of person who uses scotch tape, and their chances of becoming sterile
This sounds like a terrible April Fools joke.
no you are only at risk in a vacum. because the electrons are....well i know it only happens in a vacum
In other news, cancer among secretaries is on the rise...
lol. that's what I first thought.
lol. that's what I first thought.
Dear terror, you mean that the first thing that went through your head as you looked at scotch tape at the age of 3 was:
"Gosh, I bet this thing emits X-rays!"
lol "More interestingly the scientist feel that the technology presents the possibilty of nuclear fusion." imagine a nuke built from scotch tape.... thats kinda crazzy.
So...what are scientists doing studying scotch tape in a vacuum chamber?
...maybe they're trying to steal 3M's secret!!!
Great, one more thing I can't bring on the plane.
So does this mean scotch tape now stands as the king of adhesive tape, trumping the previous leader, duct tape.
no mention of the dangers of x-rays?
only happens in a vacume my ass.
its suprising that a moleculr event triggers nuclear level energy.
All this knowledge ..... wasted looking at what happends when you use tape! C'mon! Don't scientists have anything better to do? Sure it's cool they discovered something .... but it's like observing a robbery while hiding from your boss .... good you did it, but you should've have been in a position to!
that's like saying "all that knowledge wasted looking at why Radar melts chocolate"
I'm not saying its wasted. But like the radar that happends to melt chocolade it's an accidental discovery if they're to be taken serious. People can't seriously spend 6 or more years of their youth becoming an expert in some field, just to play around with nonsense. Even if it should end up being a big discovery. If they were researching a cure for parkinson and accidently figured out the tape thing, then fine. They weren't just toying around..... I'm just glad it ain't my tax money, but I'm sure they're no more serious in denmark.