https://gunkies.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Switch 2026-10-26T09:53:48Z Revision history for this page on the wiki MediaWiki 1.43.11 https://gunkies.org/w/index.php?title=Switch&diff=33962&oldid=prev 2024-03-20T13:42:04Z

<p>Current top of the &#039;Wanted pages&#039; list</p> <p><b>New page</b></p><div>A &#039;&#039;&#039;switch&#039;&#039;&#039;, in its most general meaning, is a means of putting a break in a [[conductor]]. Most switches are mechanical; one of a pair of [[contact]]s is moved so that it is no longer touching the other. (Which can lead to an entertaining display when the [[circuit]] in which the switch is emplaced is carrying a very high [[voltage]]; if the switch is not in a vacuum, an [[arc]] can be created between the two contacts, until they are far enough apart.)<br /> <br /> Switches exist which contain multiple pairs of contacts, and the means (usually mechanical) which separates a pair simultaneously separates all the pairs. The other complication which exists is than instead of a pair of contacts, there can be multiple contacts, and the means moves one contact (the &#039;input&#039;) to select one (or none) of the multiple other contacts (the &#039;outputs&#039;). (Obviously, this can be run in reverse, so that a single output may be connected to one of a number of inputs.)<br /> <br /> Both of these can be provided in a single switch; there is terminology to crisply describe the exact configuration of any such. A &#039;single-pole, single-throw&#039; (usually abbreviated to &#039;SPST&#039;) is the simplest of all; a switch which contains two sets of contacts, each with two potential inputs, is termed a &#039; double-pole, double-throw&#039; (abbreviated as &#039;DPDT&#039;).<br /> <br /> There are also [[solid state]] switches, but they are rare.<br /> <br /> {{semi-stub}}<br /> <br /> ==See also==<br /> <br /> * [[DIP switch]]<br /> * [[Relay]]<br /> <br /> [[Category: Electrical Basics]]</div>

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