ESD is an acronym for electrostatic discharge. This discharge is the rapid transfer of static between two different objects. Although ESD doesn’t typically cause harm to the human body - you might only experience it as a small, surprising shock - it can cause extensive damage to electrical equipment and sensitive instruments. This damage may either be permanent, causing the device to malfunction (known as a catastrophic failure), or it may occur on a smaller scale that would be difficult to detect before the device is sent out for service (known as latent defect).