How does static protection really work? I've read that while working with circuits you want your body to stay at the same voltage as the components you are trying to protect. So you're supposed to connect those wrist things to one of the gold circles around the board. But I've also read that your work space is supposed to have a suitable ground nearby (the proto-typical example in many things I've read in this is a computer case). Can you help me compare and contrast these two methods from a fundamental level of electron flow? Also I'd like to know more about the concept of "suitable ground" if I had a big enough random chunk of metal handy (like a wrench or something) would it be good enough to just tie my wrist to that with a long wire? I'm imagining that would be practically as bad as the offending electrons just sitting on me -cause from the wench they would be able to flow back into the board right? 
 A: The main requirements are that 


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*Current flow into or out of "static sensitive" components be limited to below a level where damage is caused by I^2 x R heating. 

*Devices which are damaged by voltage without current flow  (such as Field Effect Transistors gate to drain voltages) do not have excessive differential voltage applied.
If all "bodies" concerned are at the same potential then there is no problem. This could be 100 or 1000 or 1,000,000 volts relative to some reference. The normal reference is ground as it is "very commonly available".  
Connections to ground of either people or equipment are usually made via a high value resistor (typically 1 or 10 megOhms) in order to limit current when equalising voltages. Earth connected  wrist-straps have these resistors built in. Use of eaarth straps without these resistors is potentially fatal as an earthed user makes a good grounding point for faulty AC mains powered equipment. 
If a large object was perfectly isolated from ground it would not allow discharge of unlimited electrostatic charge, but the capacitance to ground may have a significant effect. In practice, large objects (much larger than a wrench) tend to be grounded by multiple very high resistance paths to ground. 
