Did this incident probably harm your laptop?
Did this incident probably harm your laptop?
I have a gaming laptop and I leave the power brick on my desk. My roommate accidentally placed a plastic grocery bag on top of it for an hour. I understand static can harm hardware, so could it be my power brick or the laptop that’s damaged? Did everything connected to the wall cause this? I didn’t notice any issues immediately, but I’m concerned about potential problems later. Am I being overly worried?
Couldn't we imagine static moving across a space between the shell and the plug? The design isn't all one solid plastic part.
Electricity prefers the quickest route to the ground, such as in lightning strikes, instead of circling around, simply to intentionally connect. Also, the internal parts of a power brick are connected to the mains when the power cable is inserted into the wall. Regarding ESD, there would be a much greater risk if you touch the power brick directly, compared to touching a plastic bag placed on it.
Reasonably well shielded. More importantly in this situation, a plastic bag does NOT cause large electrical discharges. Even if you intentionally grabbed that bag and rubbed it over the power brick, I really question you could generate any meaningful charge. You don’t need to worry about harm.
Unlikely to result in harm unless the bag is cold and has condensation buildup, such as water droplets; even then, it's improbable unless the droplets entered the casing and the seal remained intact. Plastic serves as a good insulator and can lead to overheating or fire, so it's best not to use it regularly.
The static from the bag shouldn't cause any harm. It seems the bag was dry and didn't feel warm when you removed it.
No plastic is non electric conductive. There is no static plastic on plastic.
Plastic is a heat insulator there's a reason that you don't leave these on things like bed sheets or any insulating material
Inside these bricks will be a thin metal sheet that will act like a heatsink it won't be like the best thing ever but the manufacturer will be hoping the end user doesn't throw a bag on top to let the natural air dissipate the heat made by the brick. But if a plastic bag of shopping is on it while your say gaming it can cause the brick to overheat and fail.