Scientists crack the case of “screeching” Scotch tape
Summary
Ars Technica reports on a Physical Review E study explaining that the screech when peeling Scotch tape arises from supersonic micro-cracks generating shock waves, culminating at the tape edge to produce sound pulses. The piece connects this phenomenon to triboluminescence, historical observations of X-ray emissions from peeling tape in a vacuum, and high-speed imaging that synchronizes crack propagation with acoustic signals.