MIL-HDBK-773 Electrostatic Discharge Protective PackagingThis handbook provides detailed guidance for DoD personnel who use, handle, package, or store Electrostatic Discharge Sensitive ESDS items. It is designed to promote the use of standardized packaging materials as well as promote an understanding of the Electrostatic Discharge ESD threat through all levels of maintenance and supply. This handbook is for guidance only and cannot be cited as a requirement.

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MIL-HDBK-773A

3.19 Static safe area. Any area that is capable of limiting or controlling static charge on people and conductive/nonconductive materials.

3.20 Static shielding. Containers or packages capable of protecting from static discharges as well as static fields.

3.21 Triboelectric effect. The generation of static electricity caused by rubbing two substances together or by the contact and separation of two materials.

3.22 Unit pack. The first tie, wrap, or container applied to a single item or a quantity thereof or to a group of items of a single stock number, preserved or unpreserved, which constitutes a complete or identifiable package.

3.23 Worksite. Area identified, constructed, and equipped with an ESD workstation(s) and materials for trained personnel to handle ESDS items. Each worksite will be adequately and properly identified and marked as an ESD worksite.

3.24 Workstation. Area centrally located within the worksite, containing a workbench and materials to handle ESDS items.

4. GENERAL GUIDANCE

4.1 Generation of electrostatic charges. Electrostatic charges are generated by the contact and separation of the surfaces of two materials, with at least one being nonconductive. Friction caused by rubbing materials together tends to increase the amount of accumulated electrostatic charges. A familiar example of ESD is the spark that occurs by walking across a carpet and touching a metal doorknob. The contact and separation of shoes and carpet generate an electrostatic charge that is induced on a person's body, which is sufficiently conductive due to salty moisture on the body's surface. Since the doorknob is metal and highly conductive, a spark occurs when the hand is brought close to the doorknob, assuming the electrostatic charges are great enough.

4.1.1 Dry and moist materials. Separating dry materials generates greater electrostatic charges than moist materials because the moistness is sufficiently conductive and helps to dissipate the charge. For this reason, ESD effects are more noticeable in the winter since heating systems reduce moisture on the surfaces of furniture and other objects. Any circumstance that results in a low relative humidity will permit a greater accumulation of electrostatic charges.