To start off: I was explaining to my friend that I don’t have a grounding point in my house (plumbing is PVC, outlets are gcfi protected only, not allowed to drive a grounding rod into the ground, etc…) and that I’ve just been handling sensitive electronics with just luck and preparation (humidity, moisturizer, no synthetic clothing, etc…) all this time. He told me to just wire myself to a good, multimeter tested, grounding point in a car and that will discharge any built-up static electricity. I’m not smart enough to argue with him on this subject but that doesnt seem the safest. Would that work or should I just keep doing my method? My understanding is that chassis grounding is essentially replacing wires with the frame so the outcome would just be connecting myself to the negative terminal of a car battery.
Tldr: I’m explaining my lack of a grounding point at home for sensitive electronics and is advised by my friend to wire myself to a grounded point in a car to discharge built-up static electricity. However, I’m uncertain about the safety of this suggestion and questions whether my current method of handling electronics with precautions is sufficient.
Edit: lmao people are really getting hung up on the no grounded outlet part. Umm my best explanation I guess is that its an older house that had 2 prong outlets and was “updated” with gfci protected outlets afterwards think the breakers as well. My understanding is that its up to code but I’m not an electrician. As for the plumbing I’m sure there’s still copper somewhere but the majority has been updated to pvc over the years. Again it’s not my house I don’t want to go biting the hand that feeds me. Thank you though, haha
Edit #2: thank you all so much for the helpful advice, I really appreciate all of you!
My understanding of the issue with static discharge is not necessarily that everything must be at the same grounded voltage as your home’s circuitry per se, but that your body’s voltage (static electricity potential) must be the same as the component’s voltage. You can accomplish this by “grounding” yourself to the component by touching bare metal away from any IC components before handling it. You can also use anti-static wrist straps that essentially do the same thing continuously by maintaining a connection between your body and the component you’re handling.
I am open to someone who knows more about this chiming in to correct me here.
I think that’s basically it as far as I know.
Static electricity is an imbalance in electrical charge or, in other words, electrons.[1]
When two objects touch, like a hand and a doorknob, electrons can flow from one to the other. They do this because they repell each other. So they maximize their distance from each other.
It’s like electrons are introverts and stuck in a crowded room. When someone opens a door to another emptier room, some of the introverts will go into the new room and everyone will have more space between them.
So where does static charge come from?
When certain materials slide across each other, electrons move from one to the other. For example, fur and rubber rod. Rub the rod vigorously with the fur ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) and a static charge builds up on the rod.
For what it’s worth, I’ve noticed many of the modern ICs I work with list a certain tolerance for static discharge in their data sheets. I no longer go crazy overboard on cheap stuff. I only bring out the mat and strap when adding or removing expensive PC components.
Good info, thank you!