scotch tape and x-rays

Scotch tape 'can take X-rays'
PARIS - 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 unusual discovery was made by a University of California at Los Angeles team, intrigued after hearing that Soviet scientists in the 1950s found that sticky tape, when separated at the right speed, released pulses in the X-ray part of the energy spectrum.

"We took some pictures of our hands to see the bones and prove that it was possible. We have a whole collection (of pictures)... it is absolutely remarkable."

As to precisely why this phenomenon occurs, Camara admits: "That is a mystery."

via brisbane times