Static Shock

[Nostraquedeo]

It's super dry in our office, and I keep getting zapped everytime I leave my chair and touch something. The faucet handles are plastic on the kitchen sink, so I turned the water on just now and when I touched the water, I got zapped between my fingers and the water. That's a first for me! I understand the principles of it, but just never had it happen before! I'd be interested to know the typical voltage and amps involved in a typical discharge. I wonder if it is typical based on your body composition or if you can purposely generate more charge? I know in operating room design, specifically cath labs, we do a lot of grounding to prevent this same thing from happening.

 

[Zeke]

I don't know the current, I'm sure it's on the web somewhere. I do know to carry a key over to the file cabinet and touch with that first. Fun to watch the spark if you can see it rather than only feel it.

 

[RPH]

About 3kv per mm.

 

[Lightning rod]

I'm a high voltage test engineer

Your typical static shock is between 20,000 to 40,000 v

Almost no current or else you would go into cardiac arrest

 

[MFolks]

Get a humidifier, to increase the moisture content in the office. When I worked at General Dynamics/Convair, we could not solder if the relative humidity was below 30%, or above 70%, as the solder would not stick in the connectors.

 

[Air_Cooled_Nut]

What you walk on can affect static build-up and the shoes you wear can affect static build-up. I build a charge when I'm wearing my walking shoes on tile/linoleum in the office kitchen than when with the same shoes on the carpet. In my dress shoes I build no charge.

When I get out of my chair I touch my metal filing cabinet as I disembark so the charge flows through me and into ground otherwise it stays in me and builds up even until I hit the kitchen sink.

Yes, hold a metal object, like a fork/spoon/knife or key, and touch that to a grounding surface (like the sink bowl) first to discharge your static.

 

[Air_Cooled_Nut]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0047X8V3E/?tag=atomicindus08-20
http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/product/1405
http://www.ehow.com/how_7553600_make-up-using-static-electricity.html

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

Get a humidifier, to increase the moisture content in the office. When I worked at General Dynamics/Convair, we could not solder if the relative humidity was below 30%, or above 70%, as the solder would not stick in the connectors.

Exactly.

 

[rkevins]

in OR's and Cath labe we keep a higher humidity help control static

 

[Charles (in GA)]

At work I get zapped when I touch my toolbox. I usually walk up to it and if I don't have a tool in my hand to touch it with first, I pull out my keys and use them to make the spark.

Charles

 

[bjcouche]

I'll add one more suggestion. For those in colder, drier climates, like me, I get a shock getting out of my car. I get out of the car and when I touch the door to close it, I get a huge static shock. I've solved this problem procedurally.
Before setting my feet on the ground outside I grab hold of the door or other metal on the car and then get out. This way you slowly dissipate the energy and never build up a charge while dragging your **** across the seat. Once in a while when I'm transporting passengers I forget to warn them and I hear a huge crack followed by some 4 letter words....

Brian

 

[Air_Cooled_Nut]

Cloth and plastic (fake leather) seats will do that and that's how I keep myself from getting zapped. My wife didn't heed my advice so learned the hard way: When she got out of the car I heard a LOUD crack, filled by a yelp, and she was clutching her chest. Apparently her ****** touched the door before her hand...

 

[PetesPonies]

Static shocks can be tens of thousands of volts. But voltage doesn't kill you . . so the amps are very very low. All it takes is the amps from a 60W light bulb to go through your body and you are toast ; just 1/2 A. But fortunately your body has a lot of resistance and it takes then a good size voltage push to get that 1/2 A through you But static jolts can kick your *** sometimes. I bet your office is very dry, that seems to help the static potential. Raise the humidity if you can. Plastics add to the potential as well . . such as carpets etc.

 

[Falcon67]

I'm a high voltage test engineer

Your typical static shock is between 20,000 to 40,000 v

Almost no current or else you would go into cardiac arrest

And this is how you kill electronics - you can lay out a 15kV hit on something and not even feel it, but it'll fry the internal connections on an integrated circuit.

 

[PetesPonies]

And this is how you kill electronics

absolutely . . good point

 

[Nostraquedeo]

Well, today the exposed metal on the drywall corner got my shoulder as I walked by! Can't wait to see what's next here!

 

[Falcon67]

I used to work in manufacturing. Back in the 80s when we were moving from building analog equipment to digital, we were spending oodles of bucks on PCB rework. There were days when production and spares were being fed out of the rework area. Plastic tubs of circuit boards stacked 6 feet high. One of the MEs went to a seminar on static control and then had a guy come in to do a survey. He said "you guys are blowing your own junk up". PCB assembly had good control and we were using conductive bags but once it went to stock or out to the line, parts were getting fried. The tubs were running as high as 60kV if I recall, which the bags didn't really stop. Work surfaces were 15~40kV and on and on. We gutted the production area and came back with conductive work stations, megohm wrist straps, conductive mats, grounded stock racks, conductive tubs, thicker bags - all kinds of mods. Over $100,000 worth. We did draw the line at chiseling up the floor LOL. We saved it all back in reduced rework, improved deliveries and reduced man hours in about a year. I was in QC then and found a picture of this lady with her hair charged up and standing about 2' off her head in all directions. We had it printed up as a poster with CHECK YOUR WRIST STRAP HERE on it and put them all over the plant at checking stations. Made folks laugh and they didn't forget to do the check.