Scotch tape as a X-Ray source...

[grantime]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081022/ap_on_sc/sci_scotch_tape_surprise_2

No telling what they would have gotten from duct tape

[starving_dog]

Who are these people that come up with these ideas?!?  I mean, I wonder what would happen if we peeled scotch tape at X feet per minute in a vacuum?

[RAD-GHOST]

Tapeology 101!

Must have been one big ass roll of tape, (Technically Speaking)!   

RG
   

[grantime]

sounds almost as much fun as something you see on "mythbusters".

[HydroDave63]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081022/ap_on_sc/sci_scotch_tape_surprise_2

No telling what they would have gotten from duct tape

I'd imagine not much...the scotch tape effect depends in part on the corona effect on the tape material....which is what allows the formation of the plasma, and thus x-rays, during the rapid peeling.

Actually, instead of a poor man's X-ray tomography device, where this could come in handy is a low-power stealth communication system. would have to be low power, and only a few characters, like a decoder ring, pull the strip to generate plasma, run it through what would look like a tiny lighting arrestor in reverse....voila, one shot hard-to-find covert comms on a frequency band not currently being monitored by cryptologists, and too weak(probably) to be found by ELINT birds. I better hurry and file my patent.....

[SloGlo]

I'd imagine not much...the scotch tape effect depends in part on the corona effect on the tape material....which is what allows the formation of the plasma, and thus x-rays, during the rapid peeling.

sew yer saying da speed of da stripping of da tape off da roll @ 1.2'/sec is enuff to set up a tesla coil type of plasma production?  eye didn't git dat frum da article, 'n eye herd it dis a.m. ona w.s.j. radeeo show, butt wuz looking more at mae bee bremsstrahlung x ray productshun. 

[NuclearNate]

apparently HydroDave is the kind of person who comes up with these things :-P

[roadhp]

It's not surprising...if you open a Breathe Rite strip (Danger of being overweight and snore) in the dark, you can see a glow as you peel, even if you put it back together again and again.  If it can produce visible light, I'm sure the X-rays are not too far up the spectrum.