WORLD TRIBOLOGY CONGRESS 2009 , September 6 th to 11th , 2009 —Kyoto, Japan

Triboemission and X-rays

Thomas Prevenslik

Discovery Bay, Hong Kong, China

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WORLD TRIBOLOGY CONGRESS 2009 , September 6 th to 11th , 2009 —Kyoto, Japan

Background In 1930, Obreimoff found mica split in a high vacuum

emitted radiation similar to an x-ray tube.

Harvey in 1939 observed visible light upon peeling Scotch tape, although x-rays were not reported.

Dickenson et al. in 1988 reported visible light in peeling tape.

Miura et al, connected light emission to fracture of adhesive filaments in 2007.

In 2009, UCLA researchers measured x-rays produced upon peeling Scotch tape in a vacuum. 2

WORLD TRIBOLOGY CONGRESS 2009 , September 6 th to 11th , 2009 —Kyoto, Japan

UCLA Experiment

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WORLD TRIBOLOGY CONGRESS 2009 , September 6 th to 11th , 2009 —Kyoto, Japan

X-ray of Finger

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WORLD TRIBOLOGY CONGRESS 2009 , September 6 th to 11th , 2009 —Kyoto, Japan

Adhesive Filament Fracture

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NPs

WORLD TRIBOLOGY CONGRESS 2009 , September 6 th to 11th , 2009 —Kyoto, Japan

Mechanism Long standing tribology theory suggests abrupt separation produces

positive charge on one side and negative charge on the other?

Electrons torn off?

Einstein showed electromagnetic and not mechanical energy removes electrons from atoms.

Electrons are more tightly bound to atoms than atoms are bound to each other. Tearing atoms from Scotch tape can only produce

neutral atom clusters.

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WORLD TRIBOLOGY CONGRESS 2009 , September 6 th to 11th , 2009 —Kyoto, Japan

Hypothesis

The x-rays first observed about 80 years ago cannot be reconciled unless clusters of

atoms form by tearing somehow produce EM radiation that by the photoelectric effect

charges the tape to produce high voltage that upon breakdown generates the observed x-rays.

EM = Electromagnetic

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Neutral

WORLD TRIBOLOGY CONGRESS 2009 , September 6 th to 11th , 2009 —Kyoto, Japan

Purpose

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Show the source of charge produced in peeling Scotch tape is thermal kT energy in NPs raised to VUV levels by QED the charge produced by

the photoelectric effect.

NPs = Nanoparticles VUV = Vacuum Ultraviolet

QED = Quantum Electro Dynamics

WORLD TRIBOLOGY CONGRESS 2009 , September 6 th to 11th , 2009 —Kyoto, Japan

QED induced EM radiationClassically, heat is conserved by

an increase in temperature.

But at the nanoscale, QM forbids heat to be conserved by an increase in temperature

because specific heat vanishes. QM = Quantum Mechanics

QED allows heat to be conserved at the nanoscale by the emission of

nonthermal EM radiation9

WORLD TRIBOLOGY CONGRESS 2009 , September 6 th to 11th , 2009 —Kyoto, Japan

QM Restrictions

cf Dn2 r hfEP

QED induces the creation of photons of wavelength by supplying EM energy to a box

with walls separated upon /2. For a spherical NP of diameter D having refractive index nr > 1:

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QM restricts the heat content of atoms depending on both temperature and EM confinement as

given by the Einstein-Hopf relation

WORLD TRIBOLOGY CONGRESS 2009 , September 6 th to 11th , 2009 —Kyoto, Japan

Einstein-Hopf Relation

0.00001

0.0001

0.001

0.01

0.1

1 10 100 1000

Wavelength - - microns

Pla

nck

Ene

rgy

- E -

eV

1

kT

hcexp

hc

E

NPs

0.0258 eV

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WORLD TRIBOLOGY CONGRESS 2009 , September 6 th to 11th , 2009 —Kyoto, Japan

QED radiation in NPs

• • • Specific Heat Vanishes

No Temperature change

VUV

Emission

= 2Dnr

Joule

Heat

Laser/Solar/Supernova

Photons

Molecular

Collisions

Residual

Thermal

kT

Energy

NP

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WORLD TRIBOLOGY CONGRESS 2009 , September 6 th to 11th , 2009 —Kyoto, Japan

X-rays in Triboluminescence

VUV

AdhesivePositive Charge

PE NegativeChargeGap G

X-rays+

NPElectron

Electron

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WORLD TRIBOLOGY CONGRESS 2009 , September 6 th to 11th , 2009 —Kyoto, Japan

NP Charge

kTD

kTD

U33

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Total kT Energy

Yehc

DnDkTYe

E

UYeNq r

PP

3

Charge

For D ~ 100 nm and nr< 2, EP ~ 5 eV Y < 0.1

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U ~ 240 fJ / NP

q ~ 4.8 fC / NP

WORLD TRIBOLOGY CONGRESS 2009 , September 6 th to 11th , 2009 —Kyoto, Japan

Voltage and Field

G

qNV

o

P

4Voltage

G

VF Field

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Breakdown field in vacuum ~ 108 V/m G = 300 microns, V = 30000 volts

NNP ~ 200,000

Gecko needs 10 million NPs / cm2 ?

WORLD TRIBOLOGY CONGRESS 2009 , September 6 th to 11th , 2009 —Kyoto, Japan

Gap, Voltage, and Number of NPs

10000

100000

100 1000

Gap - G - microns

Vol

tage

- V

- v

olts

100

1000

10000

100000

1000000

10000000

Num

ber

N np o

f 10

0 nm

N

Ps.

Nn

p

V

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WORLD TRIBOLOGY CONGRESS 2009 , September 6 th to 11th , 2009 —Kyoto, Japan

Conclusions

X-rays from peeling Scotch tape are a consequence of VUV radiation induced by QED in NPs that form at the

instant the filaments of adhesive fracture

The VUV produces charge by the photoelectric effect

Charge accumulates to increase the gap voltage

Breakdown accelerates electrons to high velocities

X-rays are produced upon collision by bremstraahlung.

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WORLD TRIBOLOGY CONGRESS 2009 , September 6 th to 11th , 2009 —Kyoto, Japan

Extensions

Expanding Universe Redshift in NPs means Universe is not expanding and dark energy does not exist.

NP induced DNA damage

Solute collisions with NPs initiate Cancer from steady VUV induced DNA damage

Gecko walking on walls and ceilings

Spatulae under index of refraction EM confinement produce electrostatic attraction

Casimir force

EM confinement of BB thermal radiation in gap produces attractive force

Thermophones

Joule heat does not produce sound by a change in thin film temperature

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WORLD TRIBOLOGY CONGRESS 2009 , September 6 th to 11th , 2009 —Kyoto, Japan

Questions & Papers

http://www.nanoqed.org

This talk from paper “Scotch Tape and X-rays”

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