[Physics] Why does holding an electrical switch in between on and off states cause sparks

electric-currentelectricityelectrostatics

  1. If air is a bad conductor, then why do sparks develop when an
    electrical switch is held in between on and off states?
  2. Why are sparks generated when cables carrying heavy electric current
    are brought too close? Is it because the electrons are jumping from
    the live cable to the other due to the presence of high voltage?

Best Answer

The switch really has 2 positions: on and off.

However, when you move the switch very slowly, it may leave the closed position slowly. When the switch is just barely open, the field may cause the air to break down and start conducting, to form a spark (as @anna v explained). To rephrase, the reason why sparks happen is because the switch may only be open a tiny amount, not enough to stop current from flowing through the air. If the gap then increases further, the spark may persist because the air is now acting like a conductor rather than an insulator.

Switches are usually designed to prevent this from happening. They have built-in springs that act to open the contacts quickly and completely, thus preventing sparks. However, with many switches, moving the toggle very slowly may cause the contacts to separate a tiny bit, before they fly completely apart. Older designs are likely to suffer more from this.

Switch design is easier for low-voltage switches, because high voltages are more likely to cause the air to break down and cause a spark. It is the voltage that causes electrons to jump across the gap and create the spark. For that reason, high voltage switches are also larger: they have to be large enough to keep the contacts far enough apart when the switch is open. Remember that high enough voltages can cause electrons to jump between clouds and the ground - that's called lightning.

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