I'm teaching electricity soon. We often see doctors wearing blue plastic
covers for their shoes, mainly to prevent dirt/dust from entering the room
from the outside. These covers appear to be insulating. However, I read in
a physics book years ago that medical shoes/covers should be conducting so
that any static charge doctors may acquire will be discharged into the
floor. This is important so that a spark is not created in the presence of
oxygen gas used during an operation.
I am a a bit confused with all of this. Do these shoe covers have metal
screens in them or something? Or is the spark risk very low?