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X-Rays Emitted From Ordinary Scotch Tape

Posted by timothy on from the unusual-circumstances dept.

Maximum Prophet writes "When I was in High School, I built an X-Ray machine that (probably) didn't produce any X-Rays. I used an old vacuum tube and high voltage. Little did I know that simple triboluminescence would have enough energy to do useful work." The catch: you'll need to peel your tape in a vacuum, and have the x-ray film at the ready.

3 of 190 comments (clear)

  1. Re:I paid $75 for an x-ray machine at Goodwill by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Um, X-rays don't hurt. Stupid-rays do, though. That's probably what you were feeling.

  2. Re:Hmmmm .... by treeves · · Score: 5, Informative

    The article suggests Bremsstrahlung (note the 3rd paragraph of the linked article) of the electrons jumping from the non-sticky surface to the sticky surface of the tape - I guess the air present in a non-vacuum situation lets the electrons slow gradually or maybe have lower initial velocity - that part is unclear from the article.

    --
    ...the future crusty old bastards are already drinking the Kool-Aid.
  3. not bloody likely by Ancient_Hacker · · Score: 4, Informative

    Typical X-ray machines use 50 to 200 kilovolts and milliamps of electrons slamming into a tungsten target. Nothing less will do.

    It's kinda unlikely Scotch (brand) tape can bypass all the bottlenecks and emit copious X-rays.

    It's much more likely they're getting electrostatic discharges in the film. The New Age loonballs call it "Kirlian Photography".

    I'll be glad to eat a hat if this pans out. Until then I'll just wear it.