Just knowing that electrostatic charges can damage and destroy expensive components is fine, but being able to measure them is even better because it allows you to put a finger on potential problems (pun intended).Static charges are feared in all electronics laboratories and workshops — and rightly so because a vinyl carpet has the ability to charge up persons to voltages in excess of 20 kV. Careless touching of sensitive ICs can cause their instant demise. However, problematic as they are, static charges also have very interesting aspects. For example, it has been observed that two persons walking the same carpet with different shoes can accumulate opposite static charges, that is, release voltages with different polarities (positive and negative).