The development of the analysis of erosion processes in electrical contacts

This paper is concerned with the erosions of contacts in the broad field of light engineering and communication circuits employing comparatively low voltages ≈25 V. In many such cases arcing at break is obvious to the naked eye, and in accordance with known discharge processes, electrode erosion then takes place. However, at some lower voltages erosion still occurs even when no arcing seems to appear at break; and in such cases erosion was originally considered to be due to the properties of the microscopic molten metal bridge which always seems to occur. If bridges ruptured asymmetrically there could be a net transfer of material; and such a process was termed `feinwanderung´ or bridge-transfer. In such cases it was considered that reductions or eliminations of erosion might be obtained in the search for metals or alloys with such electrical and thermal properties that the microscopic molten metal bridge ruptured asymmetrically at the boiling voltage