# What is static electricity ??



## afw (May 4, 2009)

Hey guys .... what is static electricity ?? and what happens to computer devices by it ?? what devices are more susceptible to it ?? how to avoid it ??

hope u guys can help me ....


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## Mussels (May 4, 2009)

afw said:


> Hey guys .... what is static electricity ?? and what happens to computer devices by it ?? what devices are more susceptible to it ?? how to avoid it ??
> 
> hope u guys can help me ....



how old are you? i thought that stuff was taught in schools world wide.

http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/static.html


Its bad for PC's cause they don't like electricity where it isn't meant to go.


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## BradleyKZN (May 4, 2009)

Static electricity = trouble!


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## afw (May 4, 2009)

Hey Mussels thanx for the link ... but i found answers only for ma 1st question ....   ...


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## 95Viper (May 4, 2009)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Static_electricity and http://www.school-for-champions.com/science/static.htm
or google http://www.google.com/search?client=opera&rls=en&q=static+electricity&sourceid=opera&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

There is a lot of good info out there on the net.


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## Duxx (May 4, 2009)

Haven't you ever rubbed a balloon on your hair and noticed that it causes your hair to go wild or walked across a carpet with socks on and noticed you turned a door knob and it zapped ya?  Thats static electricity, build up of electrons inside you to give you a negative charge, touching a neutral object discharges this.  Avoid it by not running around in socks and immediately touching your computer components.  Usually helps to discharge yourself before tinkering around with your computer (just something metal nearby)


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## Mussels (May 4, 2009)

afw said:


> Hey Mussels thanx for the link ... but i found answers only for ma 1st question ....   ...



the link covers what it is, and has a link within it, on how to avoid it. I mention at the bottom of my post why it is bad for PC's. Thats 3 of your questions.

The only question left is "what devices are more susceptible to it?"

The answer to that, is simple "whichever one you touch the most" any electrical circuitry (which just about everything in the PC is made of) is susceptible to static electricity.


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## afw (May 4, 2009)

Guys .. what do u'll do to prevent static electricity discharges affecting ur computer ..... ??


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## Mussels (May 4, 2009)

afw said:


> Guys .. what do u'll do to prevent static electricity discharges affecting ur computer ..... ??



I make sure not to wear woolly socks while walking on carpet rubbing a balloon on my head before touching the insides of my PC.

I do very little apart from ground myself before touching the PC.


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## Duxx (May 4, 2009)

It's not really hard to discharge yourself of static electricity, unless you notice that everything you touch every day zaps you.  Use a wooden table, and don't stand on carpet or wear socks.  Shouldn't be much of an issue.


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## afw (May 4, 2009)

Mussels said:


> I make sure not to wear woolly socks while walking on carpet rubbing a balloon on my head before touching the insides of my PC.
> 
> I do very little apart from ground myself before touching the PC.



ok... so can avoid static discharges if im barefooted ??? or do i have to have an anti-static mat to stand on ???


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## Mussels (May 4, 2009)

afw said:


> ok... so can avoid static discharges if im barefooted ??? or do i have to have an anti-static mat to stand on ???



if you arent zapping yourself when you touch the metal objects, you dont have a problem.


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## afw (May 4, 2009)

great .... i was worried that i might ruin my PC parts due to static E .....thanx for the advice guys ... 

and another question ... totally off topic .... my 12v rail is reading @ 12.54 in BIOS and ASUS PC probe..... is it ok ???


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## Duxx (May 4, 2009)

afw said:


> great .... i was worried that i might ruin my PC parts due to static E .....thanx for the advice guys ...
> 
> and another question ... totally off topic .... my 12v rail is reading @ 12.54 in BIOS and ASUS PC probe..... is it ok ???



I went barefoot for my first build, because I was paranoid but shoes do me just fine now, just touch your case before the motherboard or components.


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## Mussels (May 4, 2009)

afw said:


> great .... i was worried that i might ruin my PC parts due to static E .....thanx for the advice guys ...
> 
> and another question ... totally off topic .... my 12v rail is reading @ 12.54 in BIOS and ASUS PC probe..... is it ok ???



never trust BIOS or software readings for voltages. test them with a volt meter/digital multi meter.


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## Kenshai (May 4, 2009)

Mussels said:


> never trust BIOS or software readings for voltages. test them with a volt meter/digital multi meter.



Exactly, my 12v line is reading 9.68 if that were so I'd have a real issue


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## ChaoticAtmosphere (May 4, 2009)

Static electricity can really mess up the delicate microelectronics in your PC. Watch out for magnets too.

Us people aren't fazed by the same amount of static voltage that messes with PC's but if we got hit by lightning (also static electricity) it would be about the same!!


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## Marineborn (May 4, 2009)

too comment on the fear of statix x, was a fairly good cartoon a while ago...but on the scientific note, it takes a massive discharge of it to do any damage to computer hardware, i was pupsolly testing this theory on a older video card, had wool shirt and pants and wool socks on and a carpet and shocking the crap out of this video card and it kept working, i think its a more of a liability things for companies. but it does make sense if thought if done this test i still wear a grounding strap for builds just to be on the safe side


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## silkstone (May 4, 2009)

ChaoticAtmosphere said:


> Us people aren't fazed by the same amount of static voltage that messes with PC's but if we got hit by lightning (also static electricity) it would be about the same!!



Voltage difference between the 2 is quite a lot, lightening being millions of volts, whereas static is only thousands of volts at most.

to answer the OP, static electricity is just electrons that have been "rubbed off" one material on to another and then stored on that 2nd body due to it not being grounded, the electrons can't escape.

It's all very similar to how a capacitor works.

It's dangerous to computer components because the discharge is unregulated. It will "zap"anything it touches with a very high voltage in a very short time (fractions of a second) that big of a discharge creates a large amount of heat (although not a continuous heat like regulated power) which will ruin any small electrical components by literally "frying" them.

Best think to do to avoid it is to touch your computer case before you fiddle with anything inside (make sure your case is still plugged into the wall) This will put bosth you and your computer at the same voltage level. Then unplug everything and put the case on a wooden table, chair etc. The case will no longer be grounded so if you build up any static in the meantime it won't be able to be grounded via computer components.

The things that are most suceptable are the IC's, so every component in your computer.


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## ChaoticAtmosphere (May 4, 2009)

silkstone said:


> Voltage difference between the 2 is quite a lot, lightening being millions of volts, whereas static is only thousands of volts at most



They are both static...You are right though silk, voltage being the big difference. I was just pointing out that what fries a computer will not fry us...but that doesn't mean we can't get fried by static electricity!! 

I just take my socks of and wet my hair. Built my current rig like that and on carpet, in the middle of winter  Those disclaimers make me do weird things!!


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## silkstone (May 4, 2009)

ChaoticAtmosphere said:


> They are both static...You are right though silk, voltage being the big difference. I was just pointing out that what fries a computer will not fry us...but that doesn't mean we can't get fried by static electricity!!
> 
> I just take my socks of and wet my hair. Built my current rig like that and on carpet, in the middle of winter  Those disclaimers make me do weird things!!




Yea static can be quite painful. I remember playing with a van de graff generator in a-level physics. I reached up to touch the person next to be, who happened to have rather large breasts for a 17 year old, and wham - A big spark (about 2 1/2 inches) jumped from my hand to her nipple. Needles to say, she wasn't very happy with me.


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## Mussels (May 4, 2009)

silkstone said:


> Yea static can be quite painful. I remember playing with a van de graff generator in a-level physics. I reached up to touch the person next to be, who happened to have rather large breasts for a 17 year old, and wham - A big spark (about 2 1/2 inches) jumped from my hand to her nipple. Needles to say, she wasn't very happy with me.



did you offer to kiss it better?


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## ChaoticAtmosphere (May 4, 2009)

silkstone said:


> Yea static can be quite painful. I remember playing with a van de graff generator in a-level physics. I reached up to touch the person next to be, who happened to have rather large breasts for a 17 year old, and wham - A big spark (about 2 1/2 inches) jumped from my hand to her nipple. Needles to say, she wasn't very happy with me.



 Good thing she wasn't a "Mother-Board"


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## silkstone (May 4, 2009)

Mussels said:


> did you offer to kiss it better?



I would have liked to but she was angry enough with me as it was. I just told her she should have taken her nipple ring out before playing with electricity. That didn;t go down too well either


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## AsRock (May 4, 2009)

Duxx said:


> It's not really hard to discharge yourself of static electricity, unless you notice that everything you touch every day zaps you.  Use a wooden table, and don't stand on carpet or wear socks.  Shouldn't be much of an issue.



HAHA, tell me about it i got it bad i do. From light switches my chair in the shops and don't matter if i am wearing socks or not..  A air purifier solves it for most i believe as it happens when the air is dryer which helps the build up of static.  We cannot really afford a air purifier so just deal with it lol..  

All though the other 3 members of the house hold don't get it just me...  For ever zapping people with it kinda funny though.


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## Duxx (May 4, 2009)

AsRock said:


> HAHA, tell me about it i got it bad i do. From light switches my chair in the shops and don't matter if i am wearing socks or not..  A air purifier solves it for most i believe as it happens when the air is dryer which helps the build up of static.  We cannot really afford a air purifier so just deal with it lol..
> 
> All though the other 3 members of the house hold don't get it just me...  For ever zapping people with it kinda funny though.



hah yah I had a friend who I swear was like walking electricity machine.  He would walk around just zaping people like it was nothing...


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## AsRock (May 4, 2009)

Duxx said:


> hah yah I had a friend who I swear was like walking electricity machine.  He would walk around just zaping people like it was nothing...



About the closest you can get to being one of the xmen lol...


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## Mussels (May 4, 2009)

oh and dont forget, the only way to be 100% static free when working on a PC, is to sit on a wooden surface completely naked.


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## afw (May 4, 2009)

Mussels said:


> oh and dont forget, the only way to be 100% static free when working on a PC, is to sit on a wooden surface completely naked.



 ok i'll make sure that i'm at least half naked


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## silkstone (May 4, 2009)

Remember you'd need to ground yourself before nakedly mounting that wooden surface.


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## coodiggy (May 4, 2009)

When you reach over to plug in that x-jack or network plug into your laptop after walking across the carpet in socks, you can fry your router when you pick up the network cable, happened to my dad after getting new carpet.


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## AsRock (May 4, 2009)

coodiggy said:


> When you reach over to plug in that x-jack or network plug into your laptop after walking across the carpet in socks, you can fry your router when you pick up the network cable, happened to my dad after getting new carpet.



Gotta love nylon for that .


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## Mussels (May 4, 2009)

coodiggy said:


> When you reach over to plug in that x-jack or network plug into your laptop after walking across the carpet in socks, you can fry your router when you pick up the network cable, happened to my dad after getting new carpet.



in all honesty, thats physically impossible. there simply isnt any exposed metal parts on a network cable for the static to actually get to. Some cables have a metal cover around the plug, but thats never actually wired into anything.

Most likely your dad dropped it/spilled coffee on it/wanted a new one and came up with a cover story.


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## Dice (May 4, 2009)

Marineborn said:


> but on the scientific note, it takes a massive discharge of it to do any damage to computer hardware, i was pupsolly testing this theory on a older video card, had wool shirt and pants and wool socks on and a carpet and shocking the crap out of this video card and it kept working,



it dosent take a massive discharge, any voltage across a silicon chip the wrong way can cause (relativly) massive current through tiny components  You may not notice any damage straight away but any transisters could be weakened which would seriously shorten the working life.


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## Beertintedgoggles (May 4, 2009)

Ok, not a huge deal but NO NO NO...  if you want your PC and yourself to stay at the same voltage potential keep both the PC and your body grounded while working on it.  Isolating it and yourself on a wooden or whatever insulator will only allow you build up a charge again (which will be different from your PC until you touch it again).  Even breifly taking your hand away will allow yourself to build up a charge just by having your clothes rub against themselves.  Even wind can cause a build up of charge, how else do you think lightning forms??  It's the wind stripping electrons from the ground which is why the ground is actually slightly positive in charge (we use it as zero, ground potential because it so readily accepts electrons).  Using air purifiers actually ionize the air allowing buildups of access charge to bleed more readily through the air (which is usually a very good insulator of electricity) so yes they will help alleviate the problem some.  The same principle applies with humid air.  Dry air, the kind in winter, has the opposite effect so that it is harder to rid yourself of the excess charge through the air thus allowing yourself to build up enough of a charge to discharge through the air (static discharge).

Also the guy could have discharged through the jacketing on a cable.  Most cable insulators are only rated to around 600 or so volts.  The breakdown voltage of dry air is on the order of around 30 kV.  Definately not impossible.


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