kottke.org: Controlling the stickiness of tape is of utmost importance. In fact, a key element of engineering tape is controlling its stickiness — and only by doing that can tape be wound into a useful roll. If the tape sticks too tightly to itself, we could not use it.
8 comments:
The inclusion of a ramp with tape at the bottom in order to determine a tapes stickiness is something that feels like it should be in a physics problem set with me wondering why anyone would ever be in that situation, but this video proved that something like that can be useful. It's interesting to think about how tape actually functions, because when the things it does are broken down it does feel a little bit like magic. Based on what I know about glue, something like tape shouldn't work, yet it does. It's also interesting that duck tape shares a lot of physical qualities with silly putty. I had never stopped to think about why there are fibers inside duct tape but it makes so much sense that that is where the strength is being held, it's also interesting that gaff tape is essentially less sticky duct tape in order to reduce residue left behind.
I would not have watched this video before doing theater. And now I walked through the whole video about duct tape. It actually interests me how they are invented and how their structure works. I feel like understanding the beauty of engineering more after learning about the handy tools we may use every day. I’ve always noticed the cloth part of duct tape when I was peeling it, and never thought deeper about why this part exists in its scientific design. I have heard from staff members who encourage the use of tie lines instead of any kind of tapes that will be harmful to the environment after disposal. But still, the science behind these tapes is so amusing that I feel like something that was pondering in my mind suddenly got an answer. I remember thinking about why there are no adhesive residues left behind using duct tape and also painting blue tape, when most of the sticky tags on commercial products do. Those residues are always the most annoying things to me, but duct tape is the right tool here to solve this problem.
A 10 minute video about duck tape is one I didn't think I would ever watch, but duck tape is actually so useful and everything about it makes sense. It’s clearly more overengineered then I ever would have thought, and makes sense why we use it so much, especially in this industry. Literally no matter what you do, duck tape has some sort of use, either as a “cover” for loose wires/cables, to attach things, or even just to fix something falling apart, it’s very useful and won’t leave a terrible residue. It’s also a technology that can’t be recreated like most other technologies can, every one of the knock off brands you can just tell, either they cheap out on the adhesive or they cheap out on the actual tape, it just doesn't have the same feeling (or smell) as duck tape. It was actually quite a cool learning experience watching this video.
There are a lot of different inventions that have entered everyday life that aren’t thought about often. Things like tissues, duct tape, hangers, and more didn’t exist at one point. These inventions have a lot of thought behind them to make our lives as convenient as possible. Duct tape is one of these that has complex engineering and design behind it. However, this is something that I haven’t ever thought of before. I have used so much duct tape in my life and yet have never stopped to consider what it is made of and who invented it to work in the way that it does. I think the inclusion of silly putty as an ingredient makes a lot of sense for the properties that it has and the way that duct tape works in different situations. Something else that stood out to me about duct tape was the inclusion of the fabric between the adhesive and the plastic back. I always wondered what created the distinct patterning on the inside of the tape. I wonder what other inventions that I use every day actually have a lot of thought and design behind them to make them as convenient for me as possible.
I never thought I would watch a video about duct tape as part of my homework, but here I am in theater school doing exactly that. And you know what, I love duct tape so i’m really not upset about it. It truly is so useful, and as a kid I remember being incredibly excited to be given a roll of duct tape. I used to build cardboard forts, and rube goldberg machines for fun (sometimes both at the same time) and so when I could find duct tape to use for those I would be excited. It sticks to things so well, and is so useful when you're trying to quickly and easily stick something down. And it’s true that it doesn’t leave a ton of residue behind, however if you leave it there for long enough it absolutely will. Thinking about how duct tape was engineered was not at the top of my list of things I would do today but I’m glad I got to do it.
I always thought that the proper name for duct tape was in fact duck tape. On another note, I love a good roll of tape, with enough creativity you can make so many things from just duct tape alone. My cousin used to make wallets and dresses out of duct tape. One thing I am most interested in with this video is the explanation for the use of a cloth backing for strength. I wonder how the engineers came up with the specific pattern of fabric. Unfortunately, I am not the biggest fan of the cloth in duct tape as when I am using it without scissors i often have stringy pieces of cloth hanging out of the end of the tape. Like many in the entertainment industry, my favorite type of tape is gaffers tape; I like that while this video is about duct tape he also talked about how different types of tape function differently, like how gaffers tape doesn’t leave residue.
I think it’s always good to know the different aspects or parts of items you use a lot to understand how the item is intended to work and if something is wrong with the item, you may be able to understand why. I didn’t think I would learn how duct tape is created and designed but it was really interesting to learn about it. I found it cool that he compared duct tape to silly putty, but I can see why as it was a great example. I will say I never knew what the cloth was for until now, and it makes a lot of sense to why this tape is used so much when you understand the use of the cloth reinforcement. It’s also nice to understand now how adhesive residue is left on items when removing tape, and it may make it easier to prevent that from happening in the future.
The engineering of Duct Tape is so interesting. You really do have to hit the right balance of stickiness. I thought the ramp test was a really interesting way to measure stickiness. It seems to be a pretty effective way to get a quantifiable number for something seemingly abstract. The time lapse of silly putty was a cool video to watch, and was a surprising but effective way to explain what viscoelasticity was. I was always a big fan of silly putty. It was also really cool to see the close up of how the adhesive works, and why exactly applying pressure makes it stick better. I also appreciated the explanation of what the fibers are doing, because that's something I've always noticed but wasn't fully sure about. I also wish duct tape was as rippable as gaff is. I appreciate gaff for that. Residue is annoying, it's the worst when it gets melted on cables.
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