Scientists Crack the Case of 'Screeching' Scotch Tape (arstechnica.com)
- Reference: 0180858900
- News link: https://science.slashdot.org/story/26/02/25/1446236/scientists-crack-the-case-of-screeching-scotch-tape
- Source link: https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/02/heres-why-scotch-tape-screeches-when-its-peeled/
Researchers led by Sigurdur Thoroddsen of King Abdullah University in Saudi Arabia used simultaneous high-speed imaging and synchronized microphones to capture both the propagating fractures and the sound waves they generate in the surrounding air. The team's earlier work, in 2010, had identified a sequence of transverse cracks racing across the width of the adhesive during peeling, and a 2024 follow-up established a direct correspondence between those cracks and the screeching sound, but neither study pinpointed a mechanism.
The new findings show that a partial vacuum forms between the tape and the surface as each crack opens, and because the crack moves faster than air can rush in to fill the void, the vacuum travels along until it reaches the tape's edge and collapses into the stationary air outside, producing a discrete sound pulse.
[1] https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/02/heres-why-scotch-tape-screeches-when-its-peeled/
Pickup Lines. (Score:5, Funny)
(Scientist in a bar) "Damn right baby. I know how to handle simultaneous high-speed imaging and synchronized microphones to capture both the propagating fractures and the sound waves they generate in the surrounding air."
(Woman) "Mmmm. And what's that for?"
(Scientist) "Ninjas wrapping Christmas presents."
Good try... (Score:3)
The sound is actually caused by the cracks temporarily abrading the fabric of reality, which lets through the sound of the Langoliers gnawing at the timeline.
I was more interested by the radiation (Score:5, Funny)
I was more interested by the radiation emitted. Supposedly the cracking bonds of the adhesive release Xrays. People even took xrays of stuff on a youtube channel somewhere by ripping tape fast over those xray imaging films and got a weak picture.
Makes me think twice before ripping it fast. Going slow made far less xrays.
Re: (Score:3)
There have been university-level demonstrations where people unroll Scotch tape in a vacuum chamber and generate enough X-rays to image people's finger bones. Considering a roll of Scotch tape is maybe a couple dollars, this seems competitive with normal Xray sources.
Re: (Score:2)
Not if you need that vacuum chamber.
Re: (Score:2)
> Makes me think twice before ripping it fast. Going slow made far less xrays.
You missed something. I think if you're standing in a vacuum (which is necessary for this to work) you probably have bigger concerns than some xrays (mainly the ability to breath). Scotch tape is known to give of slight amounts of visible light when pulled really quickly in an atmosphere, but it's essential for all those experiments you've seen to work in a very low vacuum. VERY low vacuum. Plenty of people have tried duplicating the experiment on Youtube and found that run of the mill vacuum chambers aren
cavitation (Score:3)
Sounds like cavitation, but not in a liquid.
Re:cavitation (Score:4, Insightful)
That's not at all far off and tape adhesive is a high viscosity liquid.
Re: (Score:2)
"Engineers call the glue in Scotch tape a pressure-sensitive adhesive. It does not stick by forming chemical bonds with the material it is placed on, says Alphonsus Pocius, a scientist at the 3M Corporate Research Materials Laboratory in St. Paul, Minn. Instead applied pressure forces the glue to penetrate the tiniest microscopic irregularities on the material’s surface. Once there, it will resist coming back out, thus keeping the tape stuck in place. The glue “has to be halfway between liquid a
Is this ... (Score:5, Funny)
... related to the screeching one gets by ripping the duct tape off someone's mouth?
Asking for a friend.
Re: (Score:2)
I don't know, but I find that if you wait a couple of days, you don't have to hear that sound when removing the tape.
How much contributed by the cellophane itself? (Score:2)
The tape will also vibrate like a speaker as each segment of adhesive gives way. If you grab the tape closer to the detachment point it's higher pitched and your get that neat lowering pitch as the distance between your grip point and attachment point lengthens.
Did they filter the difference between the adhesive fractures and the tape? Sorry, who actually RTFA?
In tape (Score:2)
no one can hear you scream. I'll see myself out.
Re: (Score:2)
The glue on the packing tape smells a lot worse than the tape screeches.
Re: (Score:2)
I suggest keeping your nose away from the tape
Re: (Score:2)
Then I suggest you come up with a better way to tidy one's nose hair!