Name- Dane Roken
Author- AP/Malcolm Ritter
Topic- X-Rays Detected from Scotch Tape
Date- 10/23/08
Date Published-10/22/08
Link-http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1853082,00.html
Before I read this article I knew very little about x-rays. One thing that I did know is that they can see if you have a fracture in your bones. Before a week ago, scientists did not know that when some scotch tape is peeled, it emits radiation. The essential research question is, “Can the x-rays emitted from peeled tape harmful to us?” I think they should research it because in the future, a machine that peels the tape can be supplied to hospitals where they have no electricity and they can have a relatively inexpensive x-ray machine at there disposal. The data was collected by the researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). I believe that this information is very valid because on of the researchers took an x-ray of his hand using a machine that pulls tape off a roll.
The research found that if you peel off a piece of tape from an object, it produces very small amounts of x-rays. The only way the tape gives off the x-rays is if it is in a vacuum chamber. When the tape is peeled, electrons are released from the roll and into the piece of tape. Then when it reaches the sticky surface of the tape, the electrons slow down and become x-rays. Some conclusions that can be drawn from this research are that peeling scotch tape in a vacuum chamber will create x-rays that can be used to give you an X-ray. Another conclusion that I can draw from this information is that the tape does not give off x-rays when it is just being peeled off of a substance in open air. This information is presented in the form of order of events. My opinion about this subject is that I think it is good that they found that something as simple as tape can be the main component of a x-ray machine. I think it is of value to others becuase hospitals in poorer countries that could not afford a x-ray machine could, in the future, have a tape powered x-ray machine that costs alot less than a traditional one would cost. It has not been contradicted by other studies because it is still a new experiment. UCLA conducted the research. They conducted the research to see if there was a cheaper alternative to buying an expensive, traditional x-ray machine.
A possible question that they could look at for further research is that they can make a more efficient way of peeling the tape off of the roll. A question that I still have is, how did they come up with the idea that if you peel tape in a vacuum chamber that it will produce x-rays. There is no connection between our course content and my article.
