why tape doesn’t leave sticky residue on itself when wrapped in itself

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Often when I peel tape off of something there will be some stickyness where the tape was, but on the roll of tape the back of the tape where tape was once stuck onto isn’t sticky at all.

In: Technology

3 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Okay, so the smoother a surface is, the less things will stick to it. Think of a rock climber and the handholds he has. Less handholds, less grabbing. For this reason, they rough up surfaces before applying glue, like patch kits for bicycles, or tile floors. It helps if the glue has more to grab onto. So when they make masking tape, they take a paper roll, and wax one side to make it smoother, so the adhesive won’t grab very well. The other side stays rough, so it grabs just fine. As it rolls around itself, the sticky side always meets the smooth side. Of course, if the roll is left in a hot place, it all melts together, and the whole roll DOES get stuck to itself.

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