Electrostatic Discharge Modes
Electrostatic discharge (ESD) can damage electronic products in various ways, with the most common and harmful being electrostatic discharge. When a charged object comes into electrical contact with a component, the static electricity can transfer to the component or discharge through it; alternatively, the component itself may be charged and discharge through another object. Both of these processes can damage the component, and the degree of damage depends on the mode of ESD.
In practice, there are many sources of static electricity, and various forms of discharge. However, research on the main sources of static electricity and the actual ESD processes suggests that three main modes cause damage to components: ESD from charged human bodies, ESD from charged machines, and ESD from charging devices.