ESD Systems - Questions And Answers

1. What is the true factor charges flow to ground through ground strap, is it because the imbalance of charges/difference in voltage? 2. Can charges from human body for example discharge to a floating metal such as copper due to the lower surface resistance or difference in capacitance? - Anonymous

1) Both. You have a potential difference between two materials because there is a charge imbalance on the two surfaces (human body and ground). The ground strap just facilitates to connect them together.

2) Yes, and vice versa, as the metal can induce a charge imbalance to a human body if it had a stored imbalance of charges on it. The result would be a balance between the two conductors (human body and copper metal) but their balanced state may still be an imbalance state to a true ground reference. The more free electrons on the metal surface (the larger the surface area), the more of a true balance state (reference to ground) that the conductors will go to.

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