Читать книгу The ESD Control Program Handbook - Jeremy M. Smallwood - Страница 60

Normally air is an excellent insulator. If, however, the electrostatic field strength exceeds about 3 MV m⁻¹ (3 kV mm⁻¹), the insulating properties of air breaks down and ESD occurs. A large amount of stored charge can be rapidly dissipated by this event. The discharge may be sudden, as in sparks, or it may be gradual as in corona discharge.

An understanding of ESD is important in understanding the characteristics of ESD sources.