Static electricity and CD-R

[iowa jazz]

The subject pretty much summarizes the question. Does static electricity pose a risk to data on a CD-R? Can static cause temporary or permanent damage? Do precautions need to be taken to discharge static electricity before handling CDRs?

Thanks!

[cfitz]

No, static electricity does not pose any danger to CD-R that I know of. There aren't any delicate MOS capacitors to destroy as in electronics devices. With CD-R you should be careful to avoid exposure to sunlight, temperature extremes, excessive humidity and dust and dirt. You may wisth to take a look at NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) Special Publication 500-252 "Care and Handling for the Preservation of CDs and DVDs - A Guide for Librarians and Archivists".

cfitz

[CameraMan]

I would counter that thought. I think static electricity CAN damage a disc.

Just HOW much is debatable. The metal layer in the disc can conduct electricity. Anything that conducts can be damaged.

Imagine a small wire driving a huge load. The wire will get hot, and give out. I'm not suggesting you use a CD-R in your fuse panel, but the high voltage you find in static electricity can burn pits in the disc. It can jump from bits to bits.

I guess the only way to be sure is to burn a disc, do a 100% error check on it, then zap it, and error check it again.

An audio disc is no big deal, but a data disc could become a coaster.

[dodecahedron]

well, if you put it this way...
lightning is an effect of static electricity buildup (the discharge, actually), yeah so static electricity can damage CDs, CDRW drives, houses, cars, people etc. etc.

i think the question in this topic was what kind of damage can be cause by "normal household" static electricity, like you would accumulate by walking on a carpet. while this can be enough to fry CMOS chips, it's probably harmless as far as frying CDs go.