Mike wrote: Non-conductive material will not hold or generate any electrical charge. Therefore, it is desireable to use this material when storing or transporting devices that can be damaged by Electro Static Discharge (ESD).
---------------- Try rubbing a good non-conductive material (i.e. an insulator) such as a glass or rubber rod over another insulator such as cloth or fur and notice the sparks fly when they are subsequently brought close together again or near a grounded object! Insulators prevent the *movement* of charges from one place to another through them. Because of that, insulators can develop huge charges on their surfaces by rubbing. The rubbing action dislodges electrons from the surface of one leaving them stuck on the surface of the other. Since the object does not conduct, the charge can't move. The end result is a mob of atoms looking for a way to regain "balance" by acquiring or dumping off electrons at the first opportunity when they come in direct contact with a conductor. That's a static charge. If the charge comes in contact with a modern solid state device, either directly or through another conductor, the end result is usually a destroyed device. Ron AC7AC _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
