Peeling ordinary tape apart in a vacuum can flash out real X-rays

In 2008, UCLA physicists showed that peeling adhesive tape apart inside a vacuum chamber produces flashes of X-rays strong enough to image a finger bone. The effect is triboluminescence: pulling the tape's surfaces apart separates electric charge, which then recombines in bursts of radiation. No electricity or exotic equipment required, just ordinary packing tape.

— Carlos G. Camara, Juan V. Escobar, Jonathan R. Hird, Seth J. Putterman, Correlation between Nanosecond X-ray Flashes and Stick-Slip Friction in Peeling Tape — Nature, vol. 455, 2008

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