Static electricity concern

[Rardac]

OK, so I live in the Northeast...it gets cold and dry up here in the winter (when it isn't snowy and cold, that is ). Last night I was listening to music through wired headphones and started to take of my coat. All of a sudden, I started to hear crackling noises, and then to actually feel what felt like little shocks in my ears! Turns out (and this often happens in the winter), I was generating a bunch of static electricity during the process of taking off my coat. And this got me thinking: how well is the Captivate insulated against shocks like this? I know I would never want to be working on a PC with that amount of static, but I've never thought about it with regards to my phone. But then, these aren't exactly just phones, are they...

Anyone have any thoughts on the matter?

Thanks!

 

[MassacrMan]

I think that handling the phone as you normally would is entirely fine.

When you handle a PC you're actually touching the internal components, while with a phone your are only touching the screen and outer shell of it. Should be okay if you ask me.

 

[sremick]

The metal battery cover would make a good shield but the rest of the plastic and glass... eh.

While a direct charge would hopefully be dissipated across the surface, if you're in-effect charging the case then that could potentially damage the internal components unless the charge had somewhere to go (and in your situation, it doesn't). And then there's the issue of the damaged that can be caused by ESD fields, even without contact, if they're strong enough.

This is not a flaw of the Captivate but simply the nature of a small disconnected electronic device with sensitive internal circuitry. If you can't ground it to earth, there's only so much you can do.

Most people don't really understand ESD. And most people experience mysterious behavior and failure of electronics that they can't explain.

 

[Buddha64]

ESD, as well as other electrical test and evaluation (aviation and automotive), is what I do for a living.

If you keep the metalic cover on, you should have no issues - no more than with any other consumer electronics, ie iPod, MP3 player, cellphone, you've ever had in the past.

 

[Rardac]

Thanks for the input. I think I'll (continue) to play it safe - rather than sorry - and put my Captivate down while I generate (and dissapate) any massive amounts of static electricity...

 

[Honeycreampuff]

Hey guys,

I get to know that you guys are experiencing problems with static shocks at the same time i am doing a research about this. If you don't mind could you please help me do a survey on this. It's one of my University Projects.
Really appreciate your help & feedback!
A big thank you!

ESD Research Survey