4 ms·

Does anyone know how dangerous this actually is? Could an esd be big enough (basically lightning) to hurt or kill you?

IntronExon 9y ago
I don’t know about this case, but in general, yes, since as you said the concept covers everything from static shocks to a bolt of lightning. As always with electricity though, you can get profoundly lucky, or unlucky depending on a large number of factors. A large VDG such as those in some science museums for example, could cook your noodle.
- peter_d_sherman 9y ago
  On the one hand, this is theoretically true, but, on the other hand, as a person's electrical potential increases (or voltage, for lack of a better term), so does the range of space that the voltage will jump and ultimately dissipate to. The jumping is not the problem -- it's what it's jumping to. Metal or Grounded metal (especially if there's a lot of it) would be the worst thing, but what if instead of grounded metal you had a material with enough resistance to safely dissipate the energy, like some kind of carbon/plastic thingy? Also, you might ask why regular static electricity doesn't kill anyone. You'll get a static shock if you're charged high enough and touch metal, but other items -- you won't get any shock. But what's really happening there? Aren't they acting as resistors but with some dissipation value? Anyway, we need a greater understanding of this phenomena...
  - fest 9y ago
    People doing electronics cover their tables with medium-high resistivity material mats (high enough so it doesn't interfere with bare electronics, but not completely dielectric). The mats are grounded to Earth ground via 1 megaohm resistor. From personal experience, static discharge against such material is a lot less painful than touching grounded metal objects.
viraptor 9y ago
> An Australian man built up a 40,000-volt charge of static electricity in his clothes as he walked, leaving a trail of scorched carpet and molten plastic and forcing firefighters to evacuate a building. https://forums.firehouse.com/forum/firefighting/firefighters-forum/59086-man-sets-fire-to-carpet-with-40-000-volt-static-charge-that-built-up-in-his-clothes https://forums.firehouse.com/forum/firefighting/firefighters...
- digi_owl 9y ago
  The fuck? Like i didn't already have a reason for insisting on natural fibers.
- Hello71 9y ago
  https://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Australian_man_allegedly_ignites_carpet,_plastic_with_static_electricity https://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Australian_man_allegedly_ignite... > Several unanswered objections mark the story as a possible hoax:
- 8bitsrule 9y ago
  1. In winter, take any decent house anywhere with a severe winter climate. 2. Wait until it's -30F outside, open the doors to let that dry air in. Close the doors. 3. Heat the interior to +70F to make --extremely-- dry air. 4. Shuffle across the plastic carpet in leather-soled shoes. 5. Do NOT touch the metal door knobs.
  - IntronExon 9y ago
    Without meaning to, and without any of that I still managed to destroy a set of dimmer switches with a static shock from my finger, in winter. Boy did I feel stupid.

I don’t know about this case, but in general, yes, since as you said the concept covers everything from static shocks to a bolt of lightning. As always with electricity though, you can get profoundly lucky, or unlucky depending on a large number of factors. A large VDG such as those in some science museums for example, could cook your noodle.

peter_d_sherman 9y ago
On the one hand, this is theoretically true, but, on the other hand, as a person's electrical potential increases (or voltage, for lack of a better term), so does the range of space that the voltage will jump and ultimately dissipate to. The jumping is not the problem -- it's what it's jumping to. Metal or Grounded metal (especially if there's a lot of it) would be the worst thing, but what if instead of grounded metal you had a material with enough resistance to safely dissipate the energy, like some kind of carbon/plastic thingy? Also, you might ask why regular static electricity doesn't kill anyone. You'll get a static shock if you're charged high enough and touch metal, but other items -- you won't get any shock. But what's really happening there? Aren't they acting as resistors but with some dissipation value? Anyway, we need a greater understanding of this phenomena...
- fest 9y ago
  People doing electronics cover their tables with medium-high resistivity material mats (high enough so it doesn't interfere with bare electronics, but not completely dielectric). The mats are grounded to Earth ground via 1 megaohm resistor. From personal experience, static discharge against such material is a lot less painful than touching grounded metal objects.

viraptor 9y ago

> An Australian man built up a 40,000-volt charge of static electricity in his clothes as he walked, leaving a trail of scorched carpet and molten plastic and forcing firefighters to evacuate a building. https://forums.firehouse.com/forum/firefighting/firefighters-forum/59086-man-sets-fire-to-carpet-with-40-000-volt-static-charge-that-built-up-in-his-clothes https://forums.firehouse.com/forum/firefighting/firefighters...

digi_owl 9y ago
The fuck? Like i didn't already have a reason for insisting on natural fibers.
Hello71 9y ago
https://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Australian_man_allegedly_ignites_carpet,_plastic_with_static_electricity https://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Australian_man_allegedly_ignite... > Several unanswered objections mark the story as a possible hoax:
8bitsrule 9y ago
1. In winter, take any decent house anywhere with a severe winter climate. 2. Wait until it's -30F outside, open the doors to let that dry air in. Close the doors. 3. Heat the interior to +70F to make --extremely-- dry air. 4. Shuffle across the plastic carpet in leather-soled shoes. 5. Do NOT touch the metal door knobs.
- IntronExon 9y ago
  Without meaning to, and without any of that I still managed to destroy a set of dimmer switches with a static shock from my finger, in winter. Boy did I feel stupid.