Overview
- Researchers recorded transverse fractures racing across the adhesive at about 250 to 600 meters per second, with some moving faster than the speed of sound.
- The rapid cracks leave a fleeting low-pressure cavity that collapses at the tape edge and emits a train of weak shockwaves that dominate the audible sound.
- Two ultra–high-speed cameras, including a schlieren setup, and paired microphones captured the fractures and the resulting air disturbances in precise synchrony.
- Timing analysis showed each acoustic pulse originates at the tape edge, with individual shocks traveling slightly faster than sound at roughly 355 meters per second.
- The study clarifies past hypotheses that emphasized elastic waves, and Hackaday reports the authors inferred pressure transients of about 9,600 pascals during cavity collapse.