Hardware Related Data Loss
When the storage media itself has incurred physical damage, the result is usually devastating, and most often, recovery is costly.
Electrostatic Discharge
Electrostatic discharge is pretty harmless to us, but can cause slow or even instant death in sensitive electronic systems.
Electrostatic discharge is caused when a positively charged material comes into contact with a negatively charged material; it transfers the charge to the negatively charged material. This process is called electromagnetic discharge.
When this reaction occurs, extreme heat is produced. Although we do not feel it (we do get a shock though), precision equipment in computers, mp3 players or even instruments in fighter planes can malfunction or at the very least, degrade in a quick or unusual manner.
It doesn't take much for this to occur. 10 volts is all it takes for a hard disk to fail from electrostatic discharge. That is the reason that all hard disks are packaged in antistatic packaging, and for that matter, your sound cards, graphic cards and more.
