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Inelectronics, anelectronic switch is aswitch controlled by anactiveelectronic component or device. Without using moving parts, they are calledsolid state switches, which distinguishes them from mechanical switches.[1]
Electronic switches are consideredbinary devices because they dramatically change theconductivity of a path inelectrical circuit between two extremes when switching between their two states ofon andoff.
A variety of devices that conceptually connect or disconnect signals and communication paths between electrical devices are referred to as "switches", analogous to the way mechanical switches connect and disconnect paths for electrons to flow between two conductors.
The traditionalrelay is anelectromechanical switch that uses an electromagnet controlled by a current to operate a mechanical switching mechanism. Other operating principles are also used (for instance,solid-state relays invented in 1971 control power circuits with no moving parts, instead using asemiconductor device to perform switching—often asilicon-controlled rectifier ortriac).
Early telephone systems used an electromagnetically operatedStrowger switch to connect telephone callers; latertelephone exchanges contain one or moreelectromechanical crossbar switches. Thus the term 'switched' is applied totelecommunications networks, and signifies a network that iscircuit switched, providing dedicated circuits for communication between end nodes, such as thepublic switched telephone network.
The termswitch has since spread to a variety of digitalactive devices such astransistors andlogic gates whose function is to change their output state betweenlogic states or connect differentsignal lines.
The common feature of all these usages is they refer to devices that control abinarystate of eitheron oroff,closed oropen,connected ornot connected,conducting ornot conducting,low impedance orhigh impedance.
There is a great variety of different types of switches that can be classified based on various characteristics, such as amplifying factor or power factor, power type, materials it made out of etc..:
Electronic switches are used in all kinds of common and industrial applications ranging from oscillation generators to power, and input control.
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