LTT episode recommendation: Electrostatic discharge damage myth

[StannieBoi]

Please do an episode where you build a PC where you keep getting electrostatically charged and just touching and doing the build to see if there would actually be any damage done. 

 

So put a carpet on the floor, wear synthetic clothing, walk around a bunch in the process of assembling a PC. 

 

This would be a very interesting episode. 

 

[CostcoSamples]

Yes that is a great idea.  

 

On a side note, my mom killed her PC by ESD so strong it arched through the plastic power button and into the mobo.

[tlink]

its not really a myth imo. its a well established fact in the electrical engineering community.

[onlybuilt4cubanxlinx]

Nice idea shirt tucker.

[Eaglerino]

I'd like to see it for fun, I've always built computers in a very dry desert climate on carpet with no ESD protection and nothing's ever broken. But I did discharge myself before handling the components

[LogicalDrm]

Its not myth, though. ESD is fact. But there's another fact. That CPU and CPU socket are only parts in modern PC hardware which actually are risky with ESD, even smaller ones. While installing CPU, both have multiple contact points unprotected. Once CPU is in place, its safe again. GPUs, RAMs and mobos weak parts are already protected by heatspreaders and heatsinks. HDDs controller would be another weaker part.

[Yoinkerman]

Mobos aren't as protected as you think but k

[JCBiggs]

i had a couple of shocks when i put my workstation together.. mainly from the seriously dry air in the building.. i plugged the power supply in and no more problems. 

[gcubed]

A static discharge MAY, not will, kill an electronic part. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. Electricity is just evil that way.

 

People usually ground themselves because a mistaken belief that it will prevent a discharge. While it quite often does prevent a discharge, it is not guaranteed.

 

A discharge is caused by a difference in potential. If you have a 1000V charge and you touch something that does not have a 1000V charge, you will get a discharge. Basically, grounding yourself only works if what you are about to touch is already at ground potential. If the CPU you want to handle is at ground potential and you have a 1000V charge, when you touch the CPU you will have a current flow pushed by 1000 volts. If the CPU has a 500V charge, when you touch it it will have a current flow pushed by 500 volts. If you ground yourself before you touch the CPU you will still get a current flow pushed by 500 volts (the current will just flow in the opposite direction which is just as damaging).

 

The reason that grounding yourself works more often than not, is that parts are generally shipped at or near ground potential and packaged in such a way to limit the chance of them gaining a charge in shipment or in storage. Having said that, once you take the part out of that anti-static packaging, all bets are off.

 

[Sauron]

It's not a myth, it just isn't applicable to every single part people are sometimes worried about.

[StannieBoi]

On 1/10/2017 at 11:04 PM, CostcoSamples said:

Yes that is a great idea.  

 

On a side note, my mom killed her PC by ESD so strong it arched through the plastic power button and into the mobo.

Wow, didn't think that was possible. 

[StannieBoi]

On 1/10/2017 at 11:16 PM, onlybuilt4cubanxlinx said:

Nice idea shirt tucker.

Why don't ya give yer balls a tug...

[Rxt_ian]

Another point to consider is ESD damage often doesn't result in immediate failure, but dramatically shorter component life. You could put a machine together causing ESD damage and it apparently work fine, until you get a "random" failure a few months later. 

[bossman1]

Its common sense to be grounded when putting a computer together. Just by touching the case and not installing on carpet.

[treeroy]

8 minutes ago, bossman1 said:

Its common sense to be grounded when putting a computer together. Just by touching the case and not installing on carpet.

I would love to know how someone could even install something in their PC without touching their case...

 

Maybe Linus should do the opposite of this proposed video - a video where he tries to get his pc parts electrically discharged.

[bossman1]

linus drops many things and sometimes seems to be clumsy but i notice by the way he moves things on the work bench he is a detailed person and not the most organized person thats for sure.

[StannieBoi]

1 hour ago, treeroy said:

I would love to know how someone could even install something in their PC without touching their case...

 

Maybe Linus should do the opposite of this proposed video - a video where he tries to get his pc parts electrically discharged.

By first touching anything else than the case?

Lets say you are working. Decide to get a glass of water or smth... you come back ES charged and the first thing you pickup/touch is the mobo, GPU, RAM  (not the pc case) while doing a new build.

[corrado33]

Guys, this has been done by much more knowledgeable people than those at LMG. Just search on youtube for it.

 

Also, I would not want to see any of the LMG guys playing with high voltage. You realize that half of them don't even know how to build a pc right? Did you miss the moving vlog where the built their own PCs and took them many clueless hours? 

 

Here is one extreme using a tesla coil.

 

And here is the other extreme using socks on carpet.