relay
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AI overview
A relay is an electrical switch that uses a small electric current to control a much larger electric current, allowing a low-power signal to turn high-power devices on or off. Relays are important because they enable safe and efficient control of powerful equipment from a distance, and they're used in everything from cars to industrial machinery.
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Article
29 sectionsContents
- History
- Basic design and operation
- Terminology
- Types
- Coaxial relay
- Contactor
- Force-guided contacts relay
- Latching relay
- Machine tool relay
- Mercury relay
- Mercury-wetted relay
- Multi-voltage relays
- Overload protection relay
- Polarized relay
- Reed relay
- Safety relays
- Solid-state contactor
- Solid-state relay
- Static relay
- Time-delay relay
- Vacuum relays
- Applications
- Protective relays
- Railway signaling
- Selection considerations
- Safety and reliability
- See also
- References
- External links
thumb|A relay thumb|Electromechanical relay principle thumb|Electromechanical relay schematic showing a control coil, four pairs of normally open and one pair of normally closed contacts thumb|An automotive-style miniature relay with the dust cover taken off
A relay is an electrically operated switch. It has a set of input terminals for one or more control signals, and a set of operating contact terminals. The switch may have any number of contacts in multiple contact forms, such as make contacts, break contacts, or combinations thereof.