I work at a manufacturer of industrial computer systems. Circuit
boards and IC's are regularly handled. In my department there is a
"bug zapper" How potentially harmful is this? Please assume it is the
world's most powerful "bug zapper"

alt129 wrote:
> I work at a manufacturer of industrial computer systems. Circuit
> boards and IC's are regularly handled. In my department there is a
> "bug zapper" How potentially harmful is this? Please assume it is the
> world's most powerful "bug zapper"
>

Not likely to cause problems with the
IC's unless maybe a rogue bug escapes
the zapper and lands on an IC. I
wouldn't hold my breath.

I assume the workers who handle the
chips are adequately protected against ESD.

Do you have some particular mechanism in
mind by which the zapper would cause
problems?

Chuck

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On 8 aug, 14:29, Chuck <no.s...@no.spam.at.all> wrote:
> alt129 wrote:
> > I work at a manufacturer of industrial computer systems. Circuit
> > boards and IC's are regularly handled. In my department there is a
> > "bug zapper" How potentially harmful is this? Please assume it is the
> > world's most powerful "bug zapper"
>
> Not likely to cause problems with the
> IC's unless maybe a rogue bug escapes
> the zapper and lands on an IC. I
> wouldn't hold my breath.
>
> I assume the workers who handle the
> chips are adequately protected against ESD.
>
> Do you have some particular mechanism in
> mind by which the zapper would cause
> problems?
>
> Chuck
>
> ----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Unrestricted-Secure Usenet News==----http://www.newsfeeds.comThe #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
> ----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----

Thanks for answering! I was just wondering if the electromagnetic
field emitted by the zapper could be harmful to any components, boards
or CPU's that are in the vicinity of it (say 5 meters). I recall from
a training about ESD safety I once had that even the EMF from a PC CRT
monitor could be harmful at that distance. Probably not immediately,
but over time...

alt129 wrote:

>
> Thanks for answering! I was just wondering if the electromagnetic
> field emitted by the zapper could be harmful to any components, boards
> or CPU's that are in the vicinity of it (say 5 meters). I recall from
> a training about ESD safety I once had that even the EMF from a PC CRT
> monitor could be harmful at that distance. Probably not immediately,
> but over time...
>

I don't think that the normal
conductivity of air would allow enough
current to flow to damage an IC placed
in a strong field. Think about the IC's
in a TV or oscilloscope or computer
monitor: these are all in close
proximity to fairly strong fields and
don't suffer as a consequence.

The damage from ESD is caused by
actually transferring charge to the
component, almost always by direct contact.

Chuck

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alt129 wrote:

> On 8 aug, 14:29, Chuck <no.s...@no.spam.at.all> wrote:
>> alt129 wrote:
>> > I work at a manufacturer of industrial computer systems. Circuit
>> > boards and IC's are regularly handled. In my department there is a
>> > "bug zapper" How potentially harmful is this? Please assume it is the
>> > world's most powerful "bug zapper"
>>
>> Not likely to cause problems with the
>> IC's unless maybe a rogue bug escapes
>> the zapper and lands on an IC. I
>> wouldn't hold my breath.
>>
>> I assume the workers who handle the
>> chips are adequately protected against ESD.
>>
>> Do you have some particular mechanism in
>> mind by which the zapper would cause
>> problems?
>>
>> Chuck
>>
>> ----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Unrestricted-Secure Usenet
>> News==----http://www.newsfeeds.comThe #1 Newsgroup Service in the World!
>> 120,000+ Newsgroups ----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total
>> Privacy via Encryption =----
>
> Thanks for answering! I was just wondering if the electromagnetic
> field emitted by the zapper could be harmful to any components, boards
> or CPU's that are in the vicinity of it (say 5 meters). I recall from
> a training about ESD safety I once had that even the EMF from a PC CRT
> monitor could be harmful at that distance. Probably not immediately,
> but over time...

Perhaps you will find some useful information on this website:
http://www.emcesd.com/

Chris

On 2007-08-08, alt129 <mike.huttner@gmail.com> wrote:
> I work at a manufacturer of industrial computer systems. Circuit
> boards and IC's are regularly handled. In my department there is a
> "bug zapper" How potentially harmful is this? Please assume it is the
> world's most powerful "bug zapper"

All that UV will reduce static electricity in the vacinity.

photoelectric effect.

Bye.
Jasen

On Wed, 08 Aug 2007 03:08:29 -0700, alt129 wrote:

> I work at a manufacturer of industrial computer systems. Circuit
> boards and IC's are regularly handled. In my department there is a
> "bug zapper" How potentially harmful is this? Please assume it is the
> world's most powerful "bug zapper"

There shouldn't even be a "bug zapper" there. Haven't they discovered
window screens in your country yet? Is it an outdoor factory? (in which
case you'll have more to worry about than bugs!)

The thing with bug zappers is that they zap the exactly wrong bugs.
Toss the zapper and invest in some pyrethrin or DEET.

Good Luck!
Rich