Online Computer Terms Dictionary - C

cationic cocktail

<hardware> (Or "Downy cocktail") Diluted fabric softener sprayed on computer room carpets to prevent static electricity from being built up by feet shuffling on carpet.

The canonical cationic cocktail is one part unscented liquid fabric softener (in the US, usually "Downy" brand) to five parts water.

"Cationic" is the chemical term for the most common active ingredient in fabric softeners. The use of the term "cocktail" may be influenced by its use in other jargons, especially pharmacological and chemical, to denote a mixture which, like cationic cocktail, typically contains no alcohol and would be unwise to drink.

(1998-04-04)