Magnetic switch, how do they work?

[Team Member]

Polarion has stated that they use a "Magnetic switch" to turn the light on and off.
But how on earth do they work? :thinking:

And how reliable are they?

Is there any other lights that use this kind of switch?

 

[Fallingwater]

Basically, a reed switch has a ferrous contact that is attracted by the magnet and touches the other contact.

For a more detailed explanation, Wikipedia is your friend

 

[Closet_Flashaholic]

There are 2 types of "magnetic" switches.

The first type is basically a relay (as the previous post describes), however true "magnetic" switches involve no moving parts. A reed relay use moving mechanical parts.

The second type are solid-state semiconductors (typcially are a small 4 lead IC) and are based on a phenomenon called the "hall effect". These are much more efficient, smaller and more reliable. These are what are typically used . Very cool stuff:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hall_effect