using plastic inside pc case...

[jolancer]

i was thinking of using this black plastic i have here from variouse things such as black plastic folders or binders... and use it to cover the inside of my computer case.. so it looks slick black and its not permanent.

i know plastic can carry static.... but if its lining the inside of a computer case... its always touching metal.. so would static still stand in the way? and/or would it be possible or impossible for static to build up on the plastic if it remains stationarry when lining the steel case?

 

[DrPizza]

Yes, it's a problem,
But, no, not really.

Example: acrylic cases.

Yes, a static charge can build up on the outside surface of the case, however, as long as you're grounded while you're working on the electronic components inside, all should be fine. Bad idea: wear a wool sweater, don't ground yourself, and work on things inside while rubbing on the case.

 

[jolancer]

Originally posted by: DrPizza
Yes, it's a problem,
But, no, not really.

Example: acrylic cases.

Yes, a static charge can build up on the outside surface of the case, however, as long as you're grounded while you're working on the electronic components inside, all should be fine. Bad idea: wear a wool sweater, don't ground yourself, and work on things inside while rubbing on the case.

you misunderstood.... i wont to put the black plastic INSIDE the case, not outside... yes there is a window on the side case cover.

 

[Bassyhead]

You should be fine. Plastic in itself doesn't create static electricity, it has to be induced. It also depends on the type of plastic. Many of the components on your motherboard, video card, etc have plastic components or components that utilize plastics.

 

[jolancer]

thx bassyhead for your input... but i still feel i need more info then that.

im not shur what kind of plastics the components themself use but its probably different.

The other thing i was wondering witch im not clear on.... is if i line the inside of the case with plastic... since the plastic is touching the metal case, does that mean static from the plastic will always be removed by grounding threw the case?? if so does that only apply to the side of the plastic sheet facing the metal or both sides??

The other thing i was wondering is.... if i remove the static from the plastic befor i put it in the case... would there be a way for static to build back up on the plastic since its in such close proximity to electrical components?? or maybe would it be harder for static to build up.. so would it be technically safer??

and lastly.... how or what would be the best way to remove static from plastic?

 

[patentman]

Originally posted by: jolancer
im not shur what kind of plastics the components themself use but its probably different.

If your referring to the plastic components, e.g. circuitboards, used in most pc hardware, typically its a fiber reinforced epoxy material. "FR4" board is one of the most common circuit board substrates.

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: jolancer

Originally posted by: DrPizza
Yes, it's a problem,
But, no, not really.

Example: acrylic cases.

Yes, a static charge can build up on the outside surface of the case, however, as long as you're grounded while you're working on the electronic components inside, all should be fine. Bad idea: wear a wool sweater, don't ground yourself, and work on things inside while rubbing on the case.

you misunderstood.... i wont to put the black plastic INSIDE the case, not outside... yes there is a window on the side case cover.

I understood, but was in error about the "outside of the case" - I was thinking again in terms of the acrylic case. Please note that in the case of acrylic cases, there are two sides to the acrylic - an outside AND an inside.

 

[DrPizza]

Best way to remove static charges from plastic: submerse the plastic in water. Add a little salt to the water to make sure the water is conductive, and ground the tank.

Actually, I'm not certain that's the "best" way, but it'll definitely work.

 

[jolancer]

im not complaining the least, i apreciat the input.... but as an observation, those are some dam mediocre/crappy answers for a highly technical forum section.

 

[icarus4586]

The only way that the plastic would accumulate an electrical charge is if something was rubbing against it, or if it was in contact with something carrying current. You have to remember that plastic is not a conductor. If one part was in contact with something carrying a current, unless it was "in series" with the wire, nothing would happen. And usually you don't have stray leads coming off of motherboards and whatnot.
I'd think that a greater concern would be heat. Covering things with plastic will definitely impede airflow, and depending on what you cover and how tightly you cover it, it could cause something to overheat.

...those are some dam mediocre/crappy answers for a highly technical forum section

Maybe you're just asking a dam [sic] mediocre/crappy question.

 

[jolancer]

yes i know how electricity works. and static for the most part.... i figured though that maybe someone in the highly technical section would inform me of something i didnt already know... since im not putting tones of plastic in there and it wont be touching the elecrical components inside, only the case metal.. i wasnt to worryed about it to start, but 'Technicaly' i wonted to know all i could just incase.. o yea th only other thing im planing on using the plastic for is making a duct mod from it, for the HSF.. so the plastic would be in contact with the cpu HSF aswell.

there are a few things in your post though that dont make much sence without more explination... ex.- "or if it was in contact with something carrying current" <-- do you mean induction can staticly charge non-antistatic plastic?..... cause there are plastic in contact with current all the time, such as the molex connectors or whatnot, not shur what kinda plastic it is though.

"unless it was "in series" with the wire" <-- since plastic is not conductive, why do you say it would conduct current in series? you need to break a very high voltage threshold befor current would flow threw plastic... probably anywere above several thousand volts.

 

[MrDudeMan]

Originally posted by: jolancer
yes i know how electricity works. and static for the most part.... i figured though that maybe someone in the highly technical section would inform me of something i didnt already know... since im not putting tones of plastic in there and it wont be touching the elecrical components inside, only the case metal.. i wasnt to worryed about it to start, but 'Technicaly' i wonted to know all i could just incase.. o yea th only other thing im planing on using the plastic for is making a duct mod from it, for the HSF.. so the plastic would be in contact with the cpu HSF aswell.

there are a few things in your post though that dont make much sence without more explination... ex.- "or if it was in contact with something carrying current" <-- do you mean induction can staticly charge non-antistatic plastic?..... cause there are plastic in contact with current all the time, such as the molex connectors or whatnot, not shur what kinda plastic it is though.

"unless it was "in series" with the wire" <-- since plastic is not conductive, why do you say it would conduct current in series? you need to break a very high voltage threshold befor current would flow threw plastic... probably anywere above several thousand volts.

no you dont. current will flow through it and charge will store on it at much less than several thousands of volts. you obviously dont know much about electricity if you are asking some of these questions and accusing people in this thread of giving you poor answers.

did you ever think it was your poorly worded question that was the root of your misunderstanding? people come in here attempting to help you and you have the nerve to say their answers were crappy :roll: what a troll.

 

[jolancer]

Originally posted by: Bigsm00thno you dont. current will flow through it and charge will store on it at much less than several thousands of volts. you obviously dont know much about electricity if you are asking some of these questions and accusing people in this thread of giving you poor answers.

did you ever think it was your poorly worded question that was the root of your misunderstanding? people come in here attempting to help you and you have the nerve to say their answers were crappy :roll: what a troll.

ok einstien, if im wrong, then why dont you tell me how much voltage is required in order to pass current threw plastic.... (wait let me guess, your one of those who thinks electricity can shock or kill you even at low voltages such as from a AA battery)

if you didnt understand my original short simple question... thats your problem, not mine.

 

[icarus4586]

do you mean induction can staticly charge non-antistatic plastic?

Well, it can, but induction happens when there's a static charge close to an uncharged object. It won't happen when there's a current flowing past an uncharged object, which would be the case in what I think you're talking about. Thus molexes don't acquire a static charge.

since plastic is not conductive, why do you say it would conduct current in series

I didn't. It won't. If there is a conductor with a large electrical charge that is not in a circuit with something else, but is contacting your plastic, the part of the plastic touching it will become charged. It will not conduct electricity. Static electricity is non-moving charge. Current is moving charge.

And please, if you want real answers, insulting people is not the way to get them. If I was the first person to have seen your post, I would have told you to move it somewhere other than HT, because it's really not HT.

In conclusion, if all you want to do with this plastic is to make a duct type thing for your CPU HSF, then you have nothing to worry about as far as static electricity goes. Seriously. So stop posting about it.

 

[MrDudeMan]

Originally posted by: jolancer

Originally posted by: Bigsm00thno you dont. current will flow through it and charge will store on it at much less than several thousands of volts. you obviously dont know much about electricity if you are asking some of these questions and accusing people in this thread of giving you poor answers.

did you ever think it was your poorly worded question that was the root of your misunderstanding? people come in here attempting to help you and you have the nerve to say their answers were crappy :roll: what a troll.

ok einstien, if im wrong, then why dont you tell me how much voltage is required in order to pass current threw plastic.... (wait let me guess, your one of those who thinks electricity can shock or kill you even at low voltages such as from a AA battery)

if you didnt understand my original short simple question... thats your problem, not mine.

man you really are stupid. you can get shocked from a camera flash circuit easily considering they run at 300+ volts and are charged from a AA. voltage isnt what kills you though. its the current. i would have expected you to know that since you know so much about electricity. :thumbsdown:

oh, and low voltage batteries can create current through you if you are wet. put a 9v on your tongue and see what happens. now do that with a battery with much higher current output potential and see what happens. it only takes 50mA to kill you and batteries are definitely capable of outputting that current for a short amount of time.

 

[jolancer]

First, Thx for explaining icarus4586... but i do have more questions if you dont mind.

Second, i wasnt insaulting anyone.. i clearly stated that it was just my opinion that the replys didnt fit with the HT section... i did however insault Bigsm00th, cause hes clearly just spamming thus far.

Originally posted by: icarus4586

do you mean induction can staticly charge non-antistatic plastic?

Well, it can, but induction happens when there's a static charge close to an uncharged object. It won't happen when there's a current flowing past an uncharged object, which would be the case in what I think you're talking about. Thus molexes don't acquire a static charge.

maybe i just dont understand something but..... i was thinking inturms of the field around the wire of the molex expanding and colapsing everytime u turn on/off the computer... might that possibly just for fictitious example- creat a imbalance of the stray electrons riding on the plastic surface.. thus causing static buildup... or possibly something?

Originally posted by: icarus4586

since plastic is not conductive, why do you say it would conduct current in series

I didn't. It won't. If there is a conductor with a large electrical charge that is not in a circuit with something else, but is contacting your plastic, the part of the plastic touching it will become charged. It will not conduct electricity. Static electricity is non-moving charge. Current is moving charge.

ok, thats were u confused me befor... i thought you were talking about an electric circuit, because u said in *series... you didnt mention that u meant a (staticly charged conductor) a conductor just for example - a large battery that carrys a very high elecrical charge will not charge plastic or anything at all for that matter, as an open circuit that is.

Originally posted by: icarus4586If I was the first person to have seen your post, I would have told you to move it somewhere other than HT, because it's really not HT.

that could be an opinion.
-----------------------------------------

Bigsm00th <-- you are clearly just riding my thread likea spam train... if you have a problem with me, just dont look at my thread. (spam is agains HT rules anyway i think, thats one of the reasons i posted it here)

but just to make it clear.....

Originally posted by: Bigsm00thman you really are stupid. you can get shocked from a camera flash circuit easily considering they run at 300+ volts and are charged from a AA. voltage isnt what kills you though. its the current. i would have expected you to know that since you know so much about electricity. :thumbsdown:

That just mean you dont understand Basic electronics...
1) an AA battery is NOT 300 volts
2) you may have never seen this but... (E/I|R) <-- that means you cant change 1 factor without afecting the rest.. your camera is not a magical device creating 300+volts from a AA Bat.... For example- if its power source is a 1.2v batt at 2a = 2.4watts and it transforms it to 300v... 2.4w/300 = .008 amp

Originally posted by: Bigsm00thoh, and low voltage batteries can create current through you if you are wet. put a 9v on your tongue and see what happens. now do that with a battery with much higher current output potential and see what happens. it only takes 50mA to kill you and batteries are definitely capable of outputting that current for a short amount of time.

1)if your wet the current is not traveling threw you, its traveling threw the water on top of the skin.
2)i dont just have stray batterys laying around, especialy 9v... but i already know you wont feel anything, because the average human body resistence is 30,000ohms.. so 9/30000 = .0003a
3)im glad im not you, because it takes much less then 50mA to kill a person. its about 1 or 2mA thats needed to kill someone.

 

[DrPizza]

I wouldn't necessarily state that static electricity is "non-moving charge."

Scuff your shoes on the carpet and touch a metal door knob. Most people generally call this an example of static electricity. But, static (in the stationary sense) it isn't. That spark, as you touch the door knob, is caused by a current.