Choosing the right mat for your sensitive electronic environment is important to a better working environment and longer lasting equipment. You probably know ESD better as static electricity, or static shock. When you walk across carpet and then shock yourself by touching something metal, this is ESD. I run into this problem every time I go through security at the airport, I go to grab my lap top off the conveyer belt and BAM, a huge shock gets sent rifling through my computer.
These type of shocks are the ones you feel. Unfortunately, you experience ESD far more than you might think. Indeed, the transfer of a static charge to or from a human being cannot even be detected unless it is greater than 3.5 kilavolts (kv). In essence, ESD occurs continually when any two or more objects come into contact.
The problem with ESD as it relates to computers and other electronic equipment is that humans don't feel ESD transfers less than 3.5 kv. But most electronic computer devices are sensitive to charges at less than 1.75 kv.
At XpressMats we offer two types of mats to help reduce ESD: Static Dissipative and Anti-Static
Anti-static mats keep static from continuing to build as you slide your feet across them. You may still have enough of a static charge build up to cause a shock, only it would not worsen by you trip across the mat.
Static-dissipative mats actually drain the static charge away from your body to drastically minimize the severity of the static discharge. You may still have enough static built up on your body, in your clothes to create a static discharge, but the severity will be even less on this type mat.
Shocking information about, well, Static Shock
