>> outlet. You can never be to careful. In addition to that - any time I
>> touch the inside of a computer (even just for tapping and peeking or
>> cleaning the dust balls out) I always touch the power supply to
>> discharge any electricity (even while wearing an ESD strap). Second is
It's important to realize that static electricity is a build-up of charge
on a body or object. Charge is electrons. Bodies will tend to try and
achieve an electrically neutral state where there are not too many or too
few electrons. However, some physical conditions can cause electrons to be
forced from one body to another. The most common time you encounter these
conditions is when an object made of one type of material rubs against an
object made of a different material (e.g. paper rubbing on glass, plastic
rubbing on fabric, etc.) and that is what causes a static charge to build
up. Other factors aid or hinder the process but that is basically it.
Anyway when it does occur that a body/object builds up that charge, that is
excess electrons, it will release them into the first object the body
touches that has a lower charge/less electrons.
Tip: water will almost always have a lower charge, so washing your hands
will generally neutralize your charge most effectively. Though any ferrous
metal will generally suck up all of the electrons you can throw at it.
>> to put an ESD mat that lays on your desk to place ESD sensitive
>> components (like memory) on them during installation.
That is an excellent point to make. . .the charge can flow both ways. Say
you are perfectly neutral electrically, but your desk top is charged, say,
by papers being shuffled around on a plastic deskpad (yes, the plastic can
hold a static charge) if you touch the desk pad guess where that charge is
going. If you were putting a DIMM on the desk when it happened guess what
that charge just passed through. Note that this would be an exceedingly
rare circumstance, your #1 concern is building up a charge in your body and
then releasing it into the machine or to ground through a component.
> Thanks Leo. That's worth knowing. I've always been careful with ESD
> (Electrostatic Discharge) but I always wonder if I'm being careful
> enough with components to avoid oops! Would wearing latex exam gloves
> reduce the risk? Thanks.
Wearing plastic gloves would provide an excellent opportunity to rub
plastic against any number of surfaces and create a static charge where
none existed before. The tip is to bring everything to a neutral state
while you work. . .people who work on components in the factory wear
grounding straps so they never build up a charge on their body. (I forgot
to mention that wearing rubber/plastic soled shoes will prevent a static
build-up in your body from following a natural path into the ground.) The
wrist strap will keep you from building up a charge as you work.
-Greg
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