ESD (or electrostatic discharge) cutters are electronics cutters that are specially insulated to avoid damaging sensitive components through electrostatic discharges.
Can I use ESD cutters to cut through a live electrical wire?
NO! Static electricity is not the same thing as an electrical current. ESD cutters are not designed to protect the user from high electrical voltages. You should never attempt to cut through an electrical wire with any tool without switching off the power first.
The purpose of ESD cutters is to protect sensitive components from being damaged by small electrostatic discharges.
What is an electrostatic discharge?
An electrostatic discharge is a sudden transfer of electrons between two materials when they are brought into contact and then separated.
Some materials (like wool or nylon) have a naturally higher electrical charge than other materials (like Teflon or plastic wrap). When materials with different levels of charge come into contact, they exchange electrons, to equalize their electrochemical potential (if an atom has too many or too few electrons, it is less likely to react with other elements).
Humans (and donkeys) can easily build up a high positive charge through everyday activities like walking across a carpeted room. A small electrostatic discharge occurs every time they take a step, and they gain electrons from the carpet. This stored charge will then be transferred to the next negatively charged object they touch, like a door handle.
Electrostatic discharges occur every time two objects interact, but they are usually too small for us to notice. When they are large enough to be felt by a human (or a donkey), it registers as what we call a “static shock”.
Tools like electronics cutters can also accumulate an electrostatic charge over time, which can be transferred when they come into contact with the materials that they are being used on.
Even a tiny electrostatic discharge can have drastic effects on sensitive components like semiconductors and resistors. Electricity in circuit boards travels along microscopic copper lines in very small voltages. If these copper lines receive a sudden surge of electrostatic voltage they can break, like a garden hose would burst if it was hooked up to a fire engine.
ESD cutters prevent this from happening. They have insulated handles, built from materials that don’t accumulate an electrostatic charge.
