Static elecricity destroying my soul

jebuz

Its gone beyond a joke now, i'm actually scared to go to the toilet. I'm over in our company's Chicago office until Christmas and the static around here is actually unbelievable. The other workers here are used to it but I can't stand it.

To go to the toilet I have to walk down this long corridor, as I stride along, loads of lovely electrons are jumping from the carpet onto me, ergo building up a negative static charge (good old leaving cert) and then inevitably when the key I'm holding touches the metal keyhole...ZAP!! and I drop the key every time, its awful, just awful, I can even see the sparks. Then I can get on with my business in the pee pee room. But hold on, the ordeal is far from finished. I've to make the very same trek back to the office, put my hand on the metal handle to open the door and...ZAP!! It's just not worth going to the toilet any more.

Somebody, somebody please tell me what I can do (and i'm not wearing tinfoil on my shoes)

uglyjohn

ground yourself as you walk along the corridor, just touch the wall (or anything metal lying around) every few meters you should be ok.(i think???)

jebuz

Tried your suggestion just there john, but to no avail. I held onto the wall the whole way down, nothing metal around either! ZAP!

ApeXaviour

I used to get it when I worked in a busy video shop. It is actually quite stressful to be shocked by 5kV every time I'd touch the till. I managed to liberate myself though by taking my shoes off when I worked there. Modern shoe soles are heavily insulating and this is one of the reasons this is happening to you.

If ambulation with shoes is absolutely necessary in your line of work then maybe you could try fastening a piece of metal to your shoes. Could be something as simple and discreet as (carefully) putting a thumb-tack in each sole. That is assuming the sole is thick enough. Paperclips etc. should work too. At least I believe it should minimise the effect to being unnoticeable.

Pherekydes

Discharge yourself (no, not in the corridor, silly) by using the back of your hand. This presents a larger surface area, and so the charge is not concentrated into a small area, like the tip of your finger. It works!

mathias

Get some ESD shoes ,

http://www.gndzero.com/grounding_grounders_esd_shoes_dressy.html

Available most everywhere , the link is just samples of what you can get , it should stop you getting a shock which is a result of a high charge generated by the carpet and your shoes rubbing together , ESD shoes will not charge , so should solve your problem.

Putting a pin or a strip in your shoe wont work , Static electricity is localised , the rest of the shoe will still charge , and you'll still get the shock , ESD shoes on the other hand , are totally conductive ( to Static only = about 35 Megaohms ) and will stop the charging.

By the way , threshold of feeling , ie shock is about 3000v , but you are actually seeing a spark so the shock you are getting is at least 8000v plus.
( This is of course Static electricity as opposed to current electricity so dont worry too much. )

Professor_Fink

Ok, I hate to be pedantic, but really you're not making a huge amount of sense to me.

mathias wrote: »

are totally conductive ( to Static only = about 35 Megaohms )

Static isn't static if it is being conducted by anything (i.e. being dynamic).

mathias wrote: »

( This is of course Static electricity as opposed to current electricity so dont worry too much. )

The only diference is the total number of electrons (and to some extent the energy spectrum of the later electrons). It's not fundamentally different from a current, it's just that only a fixed number of electrons will pass through you.

As I say, I know this is a little pedantic, but I'd rather that than someone get the idea that there are two fundamentally different kinds of electricity.

Rhiannon14

The only way that helps me is by touching the metal screw on a light switch plate. You get grounded, but it doesn't hurt for some reason.

mathias

Ok, I hate to be pedantic, but really you're not making a huge amount of sense to me.

Sense ? About what ? ESD , or are you just upset at the wording ?

As I say, I know this is a little pedantic, but I'd rather that than someone get the idea that there are two fundamentally different kinds of electricity.

For this thread it is a little pedantic , Ive posted before on ESD in the tech section , and people just cant get their head around the voltage levels required for a visible electrostatic discharge ,

I worded it like its worded in textbooks , as two different subjects rather than two different types of electricity ,

The point is that " Current " electricity , is mains fed or source fed from some power source , whereas static electricity is for the most part triboelectrically generated , ( electricity is electricity but in the two senses above there is an important difference)

The energy levels in body generated static , while attaining huge voltage levels , are very small , so no danger is present beside discomfort. Unlike " Current electricity , being fed from a generator or power source where a much smaller voltage can kill.

The idea was not to intimate there were two distinct types , but to intimate that the levels were not related in the sense that most people inevitably think they are ,

Ive had comments before like " 3000 volts , shure that would fry you .. dont be ridiculous and so on ....

You jumped on the phrase there without thinking about the intent , thats pedantic , and misses the point of this thread.

Static isn't static if it is being conducted by anything (i.e. being dynamic).

Pedantic , pedantic ..... ESD is controlled by introducing conductive elements such as shoes , carpets , flooring , etc , ....in which case charging and discharging drop to an acceptable level , jumping on an absolute definition of the word static does not change the dynamics of the discipline.

The shoes will work in this case, to the OP.

Professor_Fink

mathias wrote: »

Sense ? About what ? ESD , or are you just upset at the wording ?

........

Pedantic , pedantic ..... ESD is controlled by introducing conductive elements such as shoes , carpets , flooring , etc , ....in which case charging and discharging drop to an acceptable level , jumping on an absolute definition of the word static does not change the dynamics of the discipline.

The shoes will work in this case, to the OP.

Actually, this last point I wasn't trying to be as pedantic as you make out. How can shoes only conduct static, as you seem to imply? If you touch a sufficiently high voltage wire with you're hand and the only route for it is through your shoes, the shoes will conduct (albeit poorly) right up until they burst into flames.

nesf

Professor_Fink wrote: »

If you touch a sufficiently high voltage wire with you're hand and the only route for it is through your shoes, the shoes will conduct (albeit poorly) right up until they burst into flames.

You could have a situation where it's "easier" for the current to arc to ground than go through your shoes. If you had mica soles or something.

Professor_Fink

nesf wrote: »

You could have a situation where it's "easier" for the current to arc to ground than go through your shoes. If you had mica soles or something.

Sure, but then they wouldn't help discharge static. I was refering to the shoes mentioned in the post I commented on.

jebuz

Thanks for the replies folks, even thought some of it went over my head, nerds! Ah only kidding, might have a look for those ESD shoes. Had another day of torture today, actually using the back of my hand helped a little, but still it's terrifying walking down the corridor knowing that within seconds you're guaranteed to be shocked! I'll struggle on...

mawk

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.716

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.5451

or else go into any hardware store.

cheaper that special shoes

breadmonkey

What about bringing it to your employer's attention and getting them to do something about it? You shouldn't have to put up with this and I wouldn't be surprised if it was illegal to have such a condition at the workplace.

Seriously, I think it might be worth a mention in the Work & Jobs forum

Delphi91

A pair of shoes with leather soles/heels will solve the problem.

SOL

Its clearly just to see who is wearing cheap shoes and judge accordingly, so I wouldn't tell your employer :P

ivanthehunter

is aybody else getting shocks.. read a report about cattle welfare on farms-- turns out cattle were suffering stress for electric shocks this was all due to two things 1/ bad electric wiring with no proper return to neutral and therfore free electrons were escaing to ground 2/ electric street lighing with earthing lines going to ground these steet light were located at the end of the supply line i'd check your desk at work or better still move desk

Delphi91

I remember this happening years back when in UCC (first time I noticed it on a regular basis).

The carpet in the new (well it was back then!!) Boole library was obviously synthetic and walking across it and then touching the aluminium doors to leave tended to give a shock, especially if wearing runners.

I notice it in the summer also when I sometimes get a shock off the car after getting out of it after a journey. If I wear runners, I tend to get a shock more often.

Kintarō Hattori

A few years back I was doing a Fas course in Cabra and more or less the whole building was covered in carpet. The bins that they used in the place had BIG metal lids and every time I touched one of those f**kers I used to get a shock. It became a bit of a running joke with the class I was in but it was extremely irritating.

mathias

Actually, this last point I wasn't trying to be as pedantic as you make out. How can shoes only conduct static, as you seem to imply? If you touch a sufficiently high voltage wire with you're hand and the only route for it is through your shoes, the shoes will conduct (albeit poorly) right up until they burst into flames.

They will not charge is the point , the main issue here is that two insulators are generating a charge by rubbing , ( ordinary , mostly plastic , shoes and a carpet) , conductive shoes , in the static dissipative range , wont charge to the same extent , or anything like it , thus keeping the level below the threshold of feeling etc.

A charged plate analyser and a wrist strap confirm this , it can easily be tested. Ground the plate , connect yourself to it with the wrist-strap , and walk around , the level of charge is then indicated on the plate , its all in this document , attached.

Note that almost all offices and places of work have or should have static dissipative carpets and flooring because , amongst other reasons , ESD events can play havoc with PABX systems etc.

Its an ESD problem were talking about here , and thats a huge part of my job. Whether or not the persom comes into contact with a high tension source is neither here not there , and in this case is most definitely pedantic. The conductivity level of the shoes is kept to a point where typical Electro-static levels are controlled while at the same time protecting against extra conductivity or hazard should you come into contact with domestic mains supplies. ( I never intended to imply that they only conduct static , they are at a level where ESD events are eliminated while posing no extra hazard in handling electrical equipment )

In most cases where an individual gets a shock at work or in a hotel , the shoes they are wearing are the culprit , being almost total insulators the shoes cause a charge rubbing with the carpet, changing the shoes usually fixes the problem , if you are the only one getting shocks , or one of just a few , then its almost certainly the case , as dissipative shoes with a disspative floor wont charge. ( or they will , but not to the point where you'll ever feel it , it should stay at less than 100v in most cases )

On a side note , someone posted an esd wrist strap as a possible fix , that wont work unless its clipped to or plugged into a ground point.