Electrical contacts Electrical contacts An electrical contact is an electrical circuit component found in electrical switches, relays, connectors and circuit breakers. Each contact is a piece of electrically conductive material, usually metal. When a pair of contacts touch, they can pass an electrical current with a certain contact resistance, dependent on surface structure, surface chemistry and contact time; when the pair is separated by an insulating gap, then the pair does not pass a current. When the contacts touch, the switch is "closed"; when the contacts are separated, the switch is "open". The gap must be an insulating medium such as air,
Electrical load Electrical load An electrical load is an electrical component or portion of a circuit that consumes (active) electric power. This is opposed to a power source, such as a battery or generator, which produces power. In electric power circuits examples of loads are appliances and lights. The term may also refer to the power consumed by a circuit. The term is used more broadly in electronics for a device connected to a signal source, whether or not it consumes power. If an electric circuit has an output port, a pair of terminals that produces an electrical signal, the circuit connected