Measurement of Discharge Current through Hand-held Metal Piece from Charged Human Body

Discharge currents through a hand-held metal piece from a charged human body were measured with respect to approaching speeds and charge voltages. A circuit approach for calculating the discharge current has also been shown. As a result, we have found that in case of 300 V charge voltage, the current waveform is not affected by the metal piece approaching speed, while in case of 800 V charge voltage, the fast approach gives the higher current peak. These current waveforms can be predicted from the time invariant spark resistance and the measured frequency characteristics of a human body impedance seen from a hand-held metal piece.