Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, have shown that simply peeling ordinary sticky tape in a vacuum can generate enough X-rays to take an image — of one of the scientists’ own fingers
Only when you do it in a vacuum, though. Not clear (the concept, not the tape) if that is because the atmosphere degrades the charge buildup on the tape or if the occasional x-rays just scatter in the atmosphere, or some third option or a combination. I’ve seen bluish light when I’ve peeled adhesives before, so the mechanoluminescent properties aren’t a surprise, but the energy of them is.