Scotch tape used to perform X-rays

From News AU:

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.

Peeling tape from a roll of Scotch releases tiny bursts of X-rays that are powerful enough to take images of bones in fingers and hands, researchers have found.

The core theory is something called "triboluminescence," which occurs when two contacting surfaces move relative to each other.

As the tape peels, the sticky acrylic adhesive, on the back of the tape, becomes positively charged, while the polyethylene roll becomes negatively charged, according to this hypothesis.

At a reduced atmospheric pressure, the mechanical act of pulling apart the two surfaces causes electric fields to build up that then trigger discharges of energy.

This accelerates electrons on the adhesive to very high speeds and when they whack into the positively-charged tape roll, X-rays result. The pulses last for a billionth of a second, with an intensity of 100 milliwatts.

SCOTCH tape might be able to diagnose the problem, but the only way to fix it is DUCT tape!