Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!rice!uw-beaver!milton!max!scott
From: scott@max.u.washington.edu
Newsgroups: comp.sys.cbm
Subject: Grounding Oneself, the right way...???
Message-ID: <11128@max.u.washington.edu>
Date: 27 Nov 89 19:48:18 GMT
References: <6058@cbnewsh.ATT.COM> <10936@max.u.washington.edu> <5126@tekgen.BV.TEK.COM>
Distribution: usa,world
Organization: University of Washington, Seattle WA
Lines: 62

In article <5126@tekgen.BV.TEK.COM>, stephenc@tekgen.BV.TEK.COM (Stephen Coan) writes:
> In article <10936@max.u.washington.edu>, scott@max.u.washington.edu writes:
>> ...
>> (At this point, go to the bathroom or kitchen and touch
>> your hand to the faucet to discharge yourself of any static electricity).
>> ...
>> Sincerely,
>> Scott K. Stephen
>
> Please NOTE!  DO NOT go running around your house to discharge yourself.
> This only works if your computer is AT the location where you do the
> discharge.  On the way back, you are going to acquire a charge again, and
> this may be worse than the one you had when you started out.
>
> Best Bet.  After the case is opened, touch the top of the large metal
> sheild covering the VIC II chip.  This IS GROUND, and will safely bring you
> and the computer board to the same potential.  DO NOT touch any other parts
> first, as a discharge anywhere else will likely do some terrible damage.
>
>                       Steve Coan
>                       tektronix!tekgen!stephenc
                        (503) 627-1794
 
Hmmm.... I thought grounding was bringing one's static level equal to that
of the circuit that you are going to be working with, so as to avoid a 
sudden large voltage/current exchange with yourself and the circuit (and
thus consequent damage to the circuit components). Grounding oneself by
touching the circuit-ground seems to be conflicting with the very thing
that you are trying to avoid - trying to be at equal charge level as the        
circuit without sudden current/volatage exchange.
Since it is more likely that the computer has been connected to the
power supply recently, and the ground of the power supply is the
earth, I think that grounding one self by touching the faucet (which
is the earth ground) will bring you to a static level equal that of the
circuit without any sudden charge exchange between you and the circuit.
 
And also one does not acquired static charge that easily and that
quickly. Unless you're deliverating trying to creat static, like some
vigorous rubbing of cloth or brushing your hair, there will be no
built-up of static after grounding.
What is more, if you have built a static charge on your body
(and if you do not continue to do the thing that you did to build up
the static charge) that charge will dissipate away in few minutes.
  Aside: For those who are interested, this dissipation occurs because the
  water molecures in the air (humidity) steals or donates electrons
  from the object that is chargely inbalance with the surrounding
  thus bringing that object to a neutral level (learn that in physics :) )
So, because of this almost everything around you is at ground level.
In fact, being still for five minutes or so before touching a circuit
will be not a bad idea either (too make doubly sure that you are at a
proper ground level)....but then who would want to do that.
 
This is why I touch the faucet for my grouding. I don't know whether
or not this the proper way to do it, but so far I never had any
static charge damage problems. But then Mr. Coan could be right....
 
Any other comments on how to ground oneself before working on the
circuit?   :)
 
 
Sincerely,
Scott K. Stephen