Sporadicism

Scotch tape 'can take X-rays'

2013-01-26T09:40:00.000-05:00

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.

Reporting in Thursday's issue of the British-based science journal Nature, the investigators used a motorised peeling machine to unwind a standard roll (25.4 metres in length by 19 mm) of Photo Safe 3M Scotch tape at a speed of three centimetres (1.18 inches) a second.

By placing the machine in a vacuum, they were able to measure X-rays that were enough to take images.

"We didn't believe it. We really didn't think it could be true," co-author Carlos Camara told AFP in a phone interview, referring to the team's initial scepticism.

"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."

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.

"It is a discharge process," said Camara. "It is not clear exactly what mechanism is taking place, but electrons are plainly flying from one side to the other at very high speed and when they hit the other side and they stop, X-rays are emitted.

He added that there could one day be a useful outlet to the discovery -- X-ray machines that would be cheaper and safer than conventional machines that require a permanent radioactive source and a highly trained technician for maintenance.

2013-01-26T09:37:00.002-05:00

Why America is heading toward civil war

Illumintaion

2013-01-07T00:55:00.002-05:00

Ill-Munition

2013-01-07T00:55:00.001-05:00

2012-08-18T18:42:00.001-04:00

ADM

2012-08-18T16:17:00.001-04:00

2011-10-10T15:46:00.002-04:00

WASHINGTON -- A stubborn computer virus has found its way into the Nevada control stations used to remotely pilot US military drone aircraft on missions over war zones overseas, Wired.com reported Friday. While the virus has not prevented pilots at Creech Air Force Base in southern Nevada's Clark County from conducting missions, it has resisted attempts by security specialists to remove it from Creech's computers, nearly two weeks after it was first detected. Most US drone missions are flown by Air Force pilots from Creech. "We keep wiping it off, and it keeps coming back," a source told Wired. This handout image courtesy of the U.S. Air Force shows a MQ-1 Predator unmanned aircraft.

A senior Air Force source with knowledge of the drone program told FOX News Channel that the virus "is not affecting operations in any way -- the protective system worked." The source added that virus "showed up on a Microsoft based Windows system. We have a closed looped system and heavily protected cockpits - the planes were never in jeopardy." The virus was introduced when the Air Force was transferring data maps using external hard drives between two systems, the source said. It was quarantined early on. The virus has infected both classified and unclassified machines at the base, but no classified information has been confirmed lost or transmitted to outside sources, according to Wired. The security specialists are working to determine whether the virus was introduced to the system intentionally or by accident and how far it has spread. The US uses the unmanned aircraft to conduct surveillance and carry out strikes on enemy targets. According to The Washington Post, since President Barack Obama took office, approximately 30 CIA drones have attacked targets in Pakistan 230 times and killed more than 2,000 suspected militants and civilians. The Air Force uses more than 150 drones over Afghanistan and Iraq, while drones struck 92 times in Libya between mid-April and late August. A CIA-directed drone strike killed American-born terror mastermind Anwar al Awlaki in Yemen on Sept. 30. Drones have been hit by a security threat before. In 2009, US forces uncovered drone footage on laptops of Iraqi insurgents, who used a $26 piece of software to steal the video Read more

Washington full of symbolism....as if you did'nt already know.....well maybe you should've......

2011-09-17T15:49:00.001-04:00

Anonymous occupies wall street

2011-09-17T15:35:00.002-04:00

What's wrong with this picture ?

2011-09-09T22:40:00.001-04:00

2011-09-09T20:55:00.001-04:00

2011-09-08T23:18:00.001-04:00

Samuel Jackson - go the F#%k to sleep

2011-09-08T23:13:00.002-04:00

WTF?

2011-09-08T20:06:00.000-04:00

2011-09-07T18:59:00.001-04:00

"If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. ... We need not wait to see what others do."

2011-09-06T04:09:00.001-04:00

Diatom Magnified

2011-09-06T04:06:00.002-04:00

Snail's teeth, magnified

2011-09-03T16:58:00.001-04:00

2011-09-03T16:57:00.000-04:00

Loose change

2011-09-03T05:27:00.002-04:00

Florida Funeral Home First to Debut Alternative to Cremation: Liquefaction

2011-09-03T01:47:00.000-04:00

A Florida funeral home has debuted a new alternative to cremation, known as the Resomator, that uses heated alkaline water to dissolve bodies in about three hours. Why do we need an alternative to cremation in the first place? Turns out cremation devices use lots of energy, release a fair amount of carbon emissions, and, in the U.K., are responsible for 16% of mercury emissions.
Created by a Glaswegian company, the Resomator submerges bodies in a potassium hydroxide solution in its steel chamber, then pressurizes (to about ten atmospheres) and heats (to over 350 degrees F) the solution for about three hours. After that, the resulting liquid is simply poured into the regular sewage system--it apparently poses no environmental risk and has passed Florida's undoubtedly strict laws for this sort of bio-disposal. Bones remain and are pulverized to ash in the usual way, and any metal bits (including mercury and any prostheses) are retained to be disposed of or recycled in a more responsible way.
Florida is just one of seven states that has legalized the Resomator, but it may catch on in others. The president of Resomation Ltd, the company behind the device, says it emits a third less greenhouse gas and uses a mere seventh of the energy of a cremation device, let alone the benefits of safe extraction of mercury and other metals. The company seems hopeful that its macabre but useful creation will soon receive approval in its native U.K..

Neil Patrick Harris lands on 'Adventure Time'

2011-09-02T17:45:00.002-04:00

Space junk suddenly a problem

2011-09-02T03:51:00.003-04:00

Earth's orbit is now so dirty that officials might have to clean it with unique tech tricks.

Two big events to blame...mmhhhhmmmm lol

Columbia Broadcast System

2011-09-01T16:02:00.000-04:00

Those of you who know America's true history get this lol Note the "all seeing eye"

Zombie-proof house

2011-09-01T15:30:00.001-04:00

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