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torquillScotch tape gives off bursts of X-rays.
I kid you not. When these researchers pulled some tape off the roll, they recorded bursts of X-rays strong enough to get a proper X-ray image of a finger.
Granted, they had to do it in a vacuum... apparently there's something about air that prevents it from happening normally. That said, the article does mention in passing that you can get flashes of normal-light illumination by pulling tape off the roll in a dark closet. Eat your heart out, Certs.
They don't know why the X-rays are produced, since the Scotch tape adhesive is a closely kept secret, but they can get similar effects on different wavelengths with other types of clear tape. Duct tape, alas, is not that cool.
This definitely comes under the header of "Reality is weird".
Edit: If you don't have a NYTimes login, I recommend BugMeNot, and the corresponding Bugmenot plugin for Firefox.
I kid you not. When these researchers pulled some tape off the roll, they recorded bursts of X-rays strong enough to get a proper X-ray image of a finger.
Granted, they had to do it in a vacuum... apparently there's something about air that prevents it from happening normally. That said, the article does mention in passing that you can get flashes of normal-light illumination by pulling tape off the roll in a dark closet. Eat your heart out, Certs.
They don't know why the X-rays are produced, since the Scotch tape adhesive is a closely kept secret, but they can get similar effects on different wavelengths with other types of clear tape. Duct tape, alas, is not that cool.
This definitely comes under the header of "Reality is weird".
Edit: If you don't have a NYTimes login, I recommend BugMeNot, and the corresponding Bugmenot plugin for Firefox.
