Desco Europe ESD - Questions And Answers

I recently found out that my problem with electronics could be that I emit a high electromagnetic field. When someone suggested it to me I thought it was far fetched, but then started to think of all the computers I have problems with, even in school, and how I always set off magnetic detectors in the airport, even when they scan me with the wand. So now I'd like to know what I can do ground myself. - Agnese Gandolfo, Long Island City, NY

Most likely you are charging up and rapidly discharging (creating an ESD Event which in turns creates an electromagnetic pulse. This pulse can upset nearby electronics, causing reboots or "crashes".

There is also an interesting article by William J. Beaty called "MYSTERIES: Electric People" on his site (and copied below)
[http://www.amasci.com/emotor/zapped.html] that may be of interest to you.

MYSTERIES: Electric People, by William J. Beaty,
The source of some human-body sparking is unexplained. There are reports of rare people, "Electric Humans," who develop high voltage on their bodies and suffer the continuous problem of "static" sparks. Their sparking occurs regardless of footwear, clothing, humidity, or even motion! Electric people are forever getting zapped when they touch others, or when they touch large metal objects. For the rest of us, "static electric" sparks can only occur after we walk across certain carpets, or when we wiggle around while sitting upon certain chairs. And for the rest of us, the problem vanishes when the humidity is high, or when we go barefoot or avoid wool or nylon sweaters/pants, avoid plastic seats, etc. But the bodies of "Electric Humans" instead seem to become electrified all the time, all by themselves, without involving the friction or the contact/separation of differing surfaces.

R.A. Ford mentions two cases in chapter 13 of his book HOMEMADE LIGHTNING (1991 Tab Books). In one case from 1837 a woman could repeatedly jump sparks 1-1/2" long to a metal object while she stood still on a thick carpet, or she could continuously create 1/16" sparks much faster (once per second.) Another case took place in 1920, when prison inmates in upstate New York suffering from Botulin food poisoning were found to be "electrified." They were able to attract paper, create sparks, etc., even when partially submerged in a bathtub. (Obviously the bathtub must not have been attached to grounded pipes, otherwise the excess charge would have vanished instantly.)

In modern times an Electric Human would have additional problems besides irritating sparks. Computers, stereo equipment, digital watches, etc., are easily damaged by high voltage and spark discharges. All sorts of electronic appliances would not survive very long under the electrostatic barrage. An electric human would be advized to buy mechanical watches, and to avoid buying any appliance which contains a microprocessor.

Unfortunately, scientific skepticism is currently at an all time high, so if a person with this sparking problem was to seek help, they would probably be ridiculed and their sanity questioned! Scientists don't believe in "electric people." Reputable scientists "know" that Electric Humans are mere superstition and cannot exist. Therefor anyone claiming to have this problem is irrational, perhaps deranged! At least the internet is there, giving opportunity for 'charged humans' to tell their stories (for example, at:
Report Your Unusual Phenomena
http://www.amasci.com/weird/unusual/unusual.html
What could cause the "Electric Human" problem? First, shoe sole material and clothing material needs to be eliminated as a possible cause. Maybe you aren't an "electric human", maybe you simply have electric shoes! If sparks are ALWAYS a problem, regardless of whether various conductive clothing (cotton) or shoe soles (leather, metal foil, etc.) are worn, then perhaps the problem isn't from "frictional" charging at all. In order to create a static electric imbalance on our bodies other than through "contact" or "frictional" methods, we would have to be sending out ELECTRICALLY CHARGED AIR (and so our bodies would take on an opposite charge.) Perhaps the skin does this somehow. Or maybe the membranes of our lungs can somehow emit air which is electrically non-neutral. If a person were to constantly be breathing out ions (charged air molecules), then, unless their body was electrically grounded to the earth, they would rapidly accumulate a charge imbalance on their body, an imbalance which is equal and opposite to the charged air being breathed out.

Are you an unexplainable human oddity? Here's a possible way to test it: see if you can create sparks without moving around and rubbing against things. First, put on some thick shoes, hold a metal object in your hand, then sit on an insulating chair that's within reach of grounded metal. Plumbing, radiators, and the screw on an electric outlet all are examples of grounded metal. The best "insulating chair" would be a plastic-resin lawn chair, or perhaps an upside-down plastic waste basket. If the chair has metal legs and metal bolts on the seat, it is *not* a good insulator. Next, sit down, take your metal object, and slowly touch it to grounded metal. Was there a spark? If so, then your body is no longer charged. As long as you don't rub against anything, YOUR BODY SHOULD NOT CHARGE BACK UP BY ITSELF. Sit there for a couple of minutes without moving. Don't lean back in the chair, since you don't want your back to touch/peel from the plastic chair back. Now, touch the metal object slowly to the grounded metal again. There should be no spark. If there WAS a spark, then something very weird is going on. Wait another minute or two and try again. If you can keep on creating sparks in this way, then you are an "electric people." (Hey, if this works, drop me an email note at billb@eskimo.com. Maybe we can write this up and force the mainstream research community to take this phenomenon seriously.

Another, more exotic possibility: maybe it's not static. Maybe it's something else, Torsion Fields for example. The Russians believe that Torsion Fields explain telepathy, psychokinesis, hands-on healing, and many other "paranormal" phenomena. If the human aura exists, then Torsion Physics might explain it, and the "electric human" effect might come about because of a super-strong torsion effect which surrounds a particular person.

Possible cures: buy some conductive ankle-straps that lead to adhesive conductor foot-pads attached to your shoe soles, then walk only on conductive mats which are electrically grounded via a wire. These products are used in the elctronics manufacturing industry and are available through "ESD" abatement companies (perhaps search for "ESD", "static", or "wrist strap" on the WWW.) ESD stands for "Electro-Static Discharge."

Simple but crude cure: wear a thimble on your finger, then constantly touch grounded metal objects during your travels. The painful "zap" will be eliminated, since it doesn't blow a pinhole in your flesh when the spark jumps. An un-tried high-tech cure: buy an "ionizing blower" from an ESD-abatement company. Expect to pay $200 or $300. (Don't mistake these for "negative ion generators", you instead want a "balanced polarity" blower intended for stopping ESD in electronics manufacturing.) These blowers send out large quantities of both + and - polarities of charged air. This adds neutralised yet movable charges to the air which make the air itself become conductive. The air then silently discharges any charged objects in the room (including any "Electric Humans".)

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