A momentary switch is one that is capable of turning a device on or off when a user presses it. Momentary switches represent one of two forms of switches, the other being a traditional on/off switch. They are found in many electronic devices and are usually buttons. Momentary switches are a type of biased switch and are available in two types: push-to-make and push-to-break.

How a Momentary Switch Works
A momentary switch acts as a regular switch in order to connect two metal contacts and complete an electrical circuit. However, momentary switches differ from traditional on/off switches because they must be pressed, rather than simply flicked up or down, to be turned on. A push-to-make momentary switch connects the two metal contacts when the button is pressed and disconnects the contacts when the button is released. Push-to-break momentary switches, on the other hand, must be pressed in to disconnect an electrical circuit and released to reconnect the circuit.

Applications
Momentary switches are used in a wide variety of applications and the average person sees them on a daily basis. For example, the keys on a keyboard are push-to-make momentary switches and complete an electrical circuit when they are pressed in. An elevator button is a push-to-break momentary switch that releases the electromagnetic door only when the button is pressed in. Momentary switches can also be found on laser pointers, doorbells, and burglar alarms.

Advantages
Momentary switches have several advantages that make them preferred over traditional on/off switches. For example, momentary switches only activate or deactivate a system or electronic device when they are pressed in. This means that a momentary switch can produce an extremely temporary effect, allows a system to recognize a user’s input, and then turn on or off while the user is actually holding the switch. For example, in the case of a laser pointer, the user only wishes to keep the laser on while he/she is holding the button as leaving the laser on could damage or annoy other individuals in the area.