What time switch.

[EFLImpudence]

I think I prefer "dry contacts" - but that may take even more explaining

But that is the same problem, isn't it?

When in use they won't be 'dry' or when bought (as Bernard raised) all contacts are 'dry'.

 

[ericmark]

Possibly - but what would you have called them?

isolated contacts

As said must agree with @EFLImpudence volt free is a daft name.

But will not change now, when we coined the name "Bulb" it made sense, they were all a bulbous shape, so we had wick, mantle, or bulb for oil, gas (including pre heated oil) and electric. Latter we had the fluorescent tube, then the folded fluorescent tube, or compact fluorescent tube, it may be a CFL (where did the L come from as lamp is the whole unit not just the bulb) or now an LED but again the LED unit is the bit inside the bulb, so still an LED bulb.

I remember mains electricians (I was to start with trained as an auto electrician) saying bulbs grow in the ground, so ordered a head lamp, and a head lamp came, minus the bulb.

So however daft the names may seem to be, we are stuck with them.

 

[RandomGrinch]

But that is the same problem, isn't it?

Yes it is - I should have added "from the current descriptions, I prefer dry contacts".

 

[ericmark]

Some things one can only imagine, like a negative square root.

 

[bernardgreen]

I think I prefer "dry contacts" - but that may take even more explaining

Dry contacts can be mercury wetted contacts,

Then there is the wetting current necessary for some applications.

 

[john4703]

I do like how sometimes on here a simple question leads to an intelligent discussion.

I don’t miss BAS or Winston who would have hijacked this thread and posted irrelevant thoughts

 

[pete01]

Never really thought about it before but all this makes perfect sense, maybe it should be called a switch because that's what it is, maybe?

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

I think I prefer "dry contacts" - but that may take even more explaining

And there are 'wet contacts'..

 

[SUNRAY]

Is this a convenient time to mention they are also known as clean contacts

Such as: https://doorentrydirect.com/bpt-r-1-auxiliary-relay-with-2-clean-contacts

 

[bernardgreen]

Don't forget "bounce free" contacts.