[30 second exposure shows visible light given off from unpeeled tape]
Read it here!!
We all love scotch tape. It's semi-invisible, it wraps our gifts, and we can stick it to our faces when we get bored.
However, that roll of scotch tape can actually produce x-rays. In a vacuum. (That means you cannot sit there and try to make x-rays at your desk at work.)
The physical peeling of the tape releases electrons which in turn, "generated strong, short bursts of X-rays — each burst, about a billionth of a second long, contained about 300,000 X-ray photons." The analogy they use is a "microscopic lightening effect."
Apparently, the Scotch-tape-is-AWESOME concept is nothing new. Russian scientists had stated that there were strong enough currents for x-rays back in 1953, but no one believed them, because really, who trusts the Russians?
Like every discovery in science, this could lead to new technologies. And what I discovered from this article is that peeling tape gives off visible light because it is "an experiment anyone can conduct in a closet."
I know what I'm doing at work tomorrow.
[Sidenote: I know this goes against the rule by being about physics, but I mean scotch tape light!!]
Showing posts with label physics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label physics. Show all posts
Monday, July 27, 2009
Is there anything Scotch Tape can't do? No.
Posted by Slinxie. at 10:48 PM 0 comments
Labels: physics
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