And now, a new use for sticky tape... X-rays

October 22, 2008

An Israeli woman buys tape at a hardware shop in Jerusalem in 2003. Scotch tape is not only see-through, it can also see through, for the product can be used to take X-rays, bemused scientists say.

Scotch tape is not only see-through, it can also see through, for the product can be used to take X-rays, bemused scientists say.

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• Lord_jag - Oct 22, 2008
  • Rank: 4.3 / 5 (6)
  uh... I used to work in a shipping center. I'd unroll 20 to 30 rolls of 2" scotch tape every day!
  
  I'd better not get cancer because of it :(
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• earls - Oct 22, 2008
  • Rank: 4 / 5 (5)
  The effect only seems to manifest in near vacuum conditions.
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• googleplex - Oct 22, 2008
  • Rank: 5 / 5 (5)
  This is fascinating. It makes sense now one thinks about the physics of tearing apart the tape.
  One wonders how the first person figured it out. Trying to ship a box of xray film and using too much tape on the packaging whilst doing it in a vacuum in space? The mind boggles. I would love to know the history of the discovery.
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• ShadowRam - Oct 22, 2008
  • Rank: 2.9 / 5 (7)
  Doesn't surprise me.
  
  I've noticed when peeling open a bandaid wrapper or similar in the dark creates visible light.
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• earls - Oct 22, 2008
  • Rank: 5 / 5 (5)
  "Who knew? Actually, more than 50 years ago, some Russian scientists reported evidence of X-rays from peeling sticky tape off glass."
  
  "As long ago as 1953, a team of scientists based in Russia suggested that peeling sticky tape produced X-rays. But "we were very sceptical about the old results," says Escobar. His team decided to look into the phenomenon anyway, and found that X-rays were indeed given off, in high-energy pulses."
  
  Image of x-rays being emitted: http://www.nature...85-1.jpg
  
  Image of finger x-ray: http://media.bonn...d472.jpg
  
  Short Video: http://www.youtub...RvYU0e3Q
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• Oderfla - Oct 22, 2008
  • Rank: 5 / 5 (3)
  uh, whoa
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• Alizee - Oct 22, 2008
  • Rank: 5 / 5 (3)
  http://www.wired....?slide=3&slideView=2
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• raron - Oct 22, 2008
  • Rank: 4.8 / 5 (6)
  Now thats a use Macgyver overlooked :P
  
  I've noticed the blue light myself when peeling off tape and recognized it as triboelectricity, but never thought of X-rays. Way cool!
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• barakn - Oct 22, 2008
  • Rank: 1.6 / 5 (5)
  "By placing the machine in a vacuum, they were able to measure X-rays that were enough to take images... We took some pictures of our hands to see the bones and prove that it was possible." We had to put our bodies in the vacuum to get this to work, but anything for the sake of science!
  
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• h0dges - Oct 22, 2008
  • Rank: 5 / 5 (3)
  I'm sure the vacuum part of the experiment was just to avoid absorption issues and to get good, conclusive results.
  
  These things will still emit xrays in an atmosphere.
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• wawadave - Oct 22, 2008
  • Rank: 2 / 5 (3)
  so people working in shipping departments live far shorter lives.
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• E_L_Earnhardt - Oct 22, 2008
  • Rank: 4 / 5 (3)
  Lightning flashes have been known to expose X-ray
  plates even inside the carriers!
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• deatopmg - Oct 22, 2008
  • Rank: 4 / 5 (3)
  "New cancer danger, Scotch tape emits 100 milliwatts of x-rays...more on the 11 news.
  
  The hysterics among us (you know; Chicken Licken and Henny Penny) will want to ban all sticky tapes (and probably lifesavers and similar candy) as soon as this goes mainstream... and the news media will turn it into money.
  
  Actually, there is a phenomenon called hormesis where exposure to low levels of toxins, including x-rays on other ionizing radiation, actually reduces the incidence of cancers. It was considered nonsense 30 - 40 yrs ago but the evidence today incontrovertible.
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• BarryR - Oct 22, 2008
  • Rank: 4.9 / 5 (7)
  "He added that there could one day be a useful outlet to the discovery -- X-ray machines that would be cheaper and safer than conventional machines that require a permanent radioactive source and a highly trained technician for maintenance. "
  
  Since when?? There is a cathode and anode made of tungsten or other dense metal that is not actively radioactive in an X-Ray machine. The X-Rays are produced when a large voltage arcs to the other side and based on that voltage and amperage defines both how many X-Rays and the penetration.
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• jeffsaunders - Oct 22, 2008
  • Rank: 3.7 / 5 (7)
  I can see it now - an Xray machine which consists of a roll of sticky tape being placed in one end and wound through to the other end while taking pictures in the middle.
  
  If it is all done right the tape should be reusable a number of times. So we roll it one way take a bunch of X-rays and roll it back and take a bunch more.
  
  The cost is just the electricity to turn the reel. Gotta be a lot cheaper than a big arc.
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• M_N - Oct 22, 2008
  • Rank: 4 / 5 (4)
  Mercury, it does have a "fake" feel to it, but depending on the sensitivity of the film to "soft" x-rays, I think it might be possible. I initially thought that the voltages produced would be quite a bit lower than what is needed. However, "soft" x-rays start at energies of about 120eV, and it is conceivable that voltages as much as a few thousand volts could be produced by the tape.
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• axemaster - Oct 22, 2008
  • Rank: 4.6 / 5 (5)
  Why anyone would worry or call this dangerous is beyond me. We have something called the Sun over our heads after all.
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• BarryR - Oct 22, 2008
  • Rank: 4 / 5 (2)
  To do an X-ray of the finger as shown in the pictures you would only need about 48 kV and about 1.2 milliamps. I would suspect if done over a longer time this could be quite a bit lower. There is some industrial tape that will give off a bit of a spark when unwound quickly. This stuff is usually the super sticky variety used for duct work or heavy industry seals. I don't think it's a fake.
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• Jayman - Oct 23, 2008
  • Rank: 4.3 / 5 (6)
  So, all they have to do is place a person bound in Scotch tape inside a vacuum chamber for a few minutes and peel the tape off at a certain speed? All we'll get is a lot of body hair and a very dead person - besides the x-ray, of course.
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• ak666666 - Oct 23, 2008
  • Rank: 3 / 5 (3)
  So there is absolutely no danger of xrays in dry air? Or there is?
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• seanpu - Oct 23, 2008
  • Rank: 3.7 / 5 (3)
  Do this at home!!
  
  Take an envelope, a nice quality business white envelope would do.
  
  seal it.
  
  go under your duvet cover in the dark.
  
  open along the seal.
  
  wehay! lovely blue light with spring forth!
  
  Dont know if its xrays but its a great trick!
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• PaulLove - Oct 23, 2008
  • Rank: 4.7 / 5 (3)
  Do you have painful thumb cancer? Have you experienced rotting zombie hand phenomenon. If you have either of these conditions and have ever used tape you may be entitled to big money damages. Call Dewey, Cheatum, and Howe today for a free consultation.
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• h0dges - Oct 23, 2008
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  Video here:
  
  http://news.bbc.c...6530.stm
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• Sirussinder - Oct 23, 2008
  • Rank: 3 / 5 (1)
  
  Time for the underpaid workers in the shipping department to demand danger pay!!
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• Jimbob - Oct 23, 2008
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  When I was a kid I once unrolled some electrician's friction tape in the dark - it made a jagged blue glow at the edge where the tape was leaving the roll. It was noticable and pretty cool.
  
  And speaking of unrolling things - there's this strange thing: http://www.eskimo...all.html
  
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• x646d63 - Oct 23, 2008
  • Rank: 1 / 5 (2)
  Could this be the same mechanism that causes sonoluminescence?
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• Mercury_01 - Oct 23, 2008
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  I love screwing with you left- brainers, it's too easy.
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• guiding_light - Oct 24, 2008
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  The separation between tape and roll should figure into whatever emission occurs.
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• ak666666 - Oct 24, 2008
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  Woolen clothes in winter give off lots of sparks. They are audible and in dark visible too. That should be associated with a lot of xrays too. ???
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• Alizee - Oct 25, 2008
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  The voltage required for production of X-rays can be as small, as few kilovolts, but the vacuum is the necessary condition here. Without it the electrons cannot achieve a high speed, they're falling though air like grains through oil, i.e. by limited speed, despite of the total voltage used. So that the risk of X-ray formation in atmospheric pressure is relativelly low, because the energy of electrons is radiated in corona. While some X-rays are produced during storms, they're always formed by cloud-to-cloud lightnings in highest altitudes, where the atmospheric pressure is sufficiently low.
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• Pointedly - Oct 25, 2008
  • Rank: 5 / 5 (2)
  Ahah! Dorks have been taping their eyeglasses for years for the X-ray vision!
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• ak666666 - Oct 28, 2008
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  Ok what about the sparks which are heard when we pass our hand over a tv or computer screen? They give off xrays too?
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• Alizee - Oct 28, 2008
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  Nope, they're formed in atmospheric pressure. But the electron ray in CRT tubes can generate a soft X-ray directly. FDA regulations in 21 CFR 1020 limit television receivers to 0.5 milliroentgens per hour (mR/hr) at a distance of 5 cm from any external surface. At the 17 to 28 kV energy range, you can expect a two to three times over-response, relative to a 137Cs (662 keV) calibrated probe.
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• ak666666 - Dec 23, 2008
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  I am not convinced that atmospheric pressure alone can ensure that xrays dont come from tv screens and woolen clothes. Lightening bolts in clouds are also in atmospheric pressure. Nooone can convince me that xrays dont come from thunder bolts.
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• ak666666 - Dec 23, 2008
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  School going kids wear woolen sweaters. I have a hunch that the sweaters give off a lot of xrays when the children are running about. Some xrays which graze the cornea of the eye result in astigmatism as cornea is deformed in a directional way. There should be asthema due to this reason too.
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