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you should NOT ground your chair directly, only ground it through a large resistor, 100K or so. (you might want to check that value, it's from memory, I think you want any potential electric "shock" to be down below the 1 milliAmp range)

I'd use a ground strap designed for wearing while you handle MOSFET ICs.

if you ground your chair directly, it is likely to make YOU be the best circuit to ground when you handle your computer or monitor's AC "mains" (us "uk") power cords.

The resistor will allow static discharge (very few coulombs at very high voltage) but limit the flow of electricity



Very true, but the resistance should be even more - for safety it should be at least 1 megaohm.


Also prevents unexpected shocks to the buttocks upon sitting.

Directly grounding shouldn't be particularly risky though. It's not uncommon to have a metal desk touching a grounded but not double-insulated chassis or dangling USB cable. And I get the impression that electrical systems are engineered so that users aren't touching live contacts when plugging things in - maybe less so in the case of US plugs.

That said, an RCD/GFCI would help in either case, and might have in the cases of electrocution by faulty phone charger, where current presumably travelled through multiple wires in the USB cable alone.


a grounded desk is safe-ish because your desk would be the path to ground, and if not, current entering your hand would likely exit your elbow.

if your chair is the path to ground, you, via your heart, are the path to ground


So I should not sit at my desk barefoot?




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