Talk:Mercury switch

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ok...but what are the characteristics of a mercury switch that make it attractive? it's wet, so it doen't arc like a dry tilt switch?

[edit] Use in car bombs

Is there any evidence in records as to how these switches were used to set off car bombs? Were they attached internally to parts of the car that would tilt or turn during use? It seems more likely to me that the mercury switch would be internal to the bomb enclosure, as that would be faster to attach to a vehicle. In that case, would it make sense that the mercury switch would be placed at a slight angle, with the contact-end raised up? It would function then as a crude accelerometer, as a sudden movement would cause the blob of mercury to roll upwards towards the contacts. I assume it'd be easiest to orient the raised end towards the front of the vehicle, so that it would be positioned to sense deceleration, as most drivers brake harder than they accelerate. Does anyone have any hard facts on how they've been used? Alvis 07:57, 4 January 2007 (UTC)

In the case of Airey Neave the switch was attached to the bomb itself. Neave's car was parked in an underground car park, and when he drove up the ramp to leave the car park the mercury completed the circuit in the bomb and exploded. In other cases they have been used as anti-handling devices to try and prevent bombs being defused. One Night In Hackney₃₀₃ 17:45, 9 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] better picture

A possible better picture is at [1] (I'm not sure how to properly link to Commons images) Ian01 23:40, 9 June 2007 (UTC)