Push-button
 Generic arcade game buttons | |
| Component type | Switch |
|---|---|
| Electronic symbol | |
.svg) | |
A push-button (also spelled pushbutton) or simply button is a simple switch mechanism to control some aspect of a machine or a process. Buttons are typically made out of hard material, usually plastic or metal.[1] The surface is usually flat or shaped to accommodate the human finger or hand, so as to be easily depressed or pushed. Buttons are most often biased switches, although many un-biased buttons (due to their physical nature) still require a spring to return to their un-pushed state.
Terms for the "pushing" of a button include pressing, depressing, mashing, slapping, hitting, and punching.
Uses
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The "push-button" has been utilized in calculators, push-button telephones, kitchen appliances, cars, and various other mechanical and electronic devices, home and commercial.
In industrial and commercial applications, push buttons can be connected together by a mechanical linkage so that the act of pushing one button causes the other button to be released. In this way, a stop button can "force" a start button to be released. This method of linkage is used in simple manual operations in which the machine or process has no electrical circuits for control.
Emergency Stop Buttons
[edit]A push-button used to facilitate the immediate stopping of a machine is often referred to as an emergency stop button.[2] For increased safety, emergency stop buttons are mandated by the electrical code in many jurisdictions. For example, according to ISO 13850, emergency stop buttons must be colored red.[3]
Scram Switches
[edit]Buttons used at a nuclear power plant to drop control rods in event of a meltdown are known as "scram switches". The origins of the term 'scram' are unclear, with possibilities including an acronym coined by Enrico Fermi[4] as well as the slang term scram, meaning "get out of here". Such buttons may be connected to other large scale functions such as automated shutdown procedures, complete facility power cuts, or fire suppression methods such as halon release.
Accessibility
[edit]Push-buttons may have large heads (called mushroom heads) that add surface area for easy operation. This large mushroom shape can also be found in buttons for use with operators who need to wear gloves for their work and could not actuate a regular flush-mounted button.[2]
As an aid for operators and users in industrial or commercial applications, a pilot light is commonly added to draw the attention of the user and to provide feedback if the button is pushed. Typically this light is included into the center of the pushbutton and a lens replaces the pushbutton hard center disk. The source of the energy to illuminate the light is not directly tied to the contacts on the back of the pushbutton but to the action the pushbutton controls. In this way a start button when pushed will cause the process or machine operation to be started and a secondary contact designed into the operation or process will close to turn on the pilot light and signify the action of pushing the button caused the resultant process or action to start.[5]
To avoid an operator from pushing the wrong button in error, push-buttons are often color-coded to associate them with their function. Commonly used colors are red for stopping the machine or process and green for starting the machine or process.[6]
History
[edit]Push buttons were invented sometime in the late 19th century, certainly no later than 1880.[7] The name came from the French word bouton (something that sticks out), rather than from the kind of buttons used on clothing.[7] The initial public reaction was curiosity mixed with fear, some of which was due to widespread fear of electricity, which was a relatively new technology at the time.[7]
In Popular Culture
[edit]In popular culture, the phrase "the button" (sometimes capitalized) refers to a (usually fictional) button that a military or government leader could press to launch nuclear weapons.[8]
Buttons have come to symbolize convenience and ease of access, with "at the push of a button" or "at the touch of a button" often used to signify that an item is readily available or an action can be taken immediately.[9]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ "Push buttons and much more". thebuilderssupply.com. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
- 1 2 Townshend, Anna (2024-05-10). "E-stop devices can take many forms". Control Design. Retrieved 2026-10-16.
- ↑ Peckham, Geoffrey (2015-09-30). "Understanding Symbols: Emergency Stop". In Compliance Magazine. Retrieved 2026-10-16.
- ↑ "Scram!". web.ornl.gov. Retrieved 2026-10-16.
- ↑ "What is a Pilot Light Switch and How Does it Work?". AIBEIKEN. Retrieved 2026-10-16.
- ↑ William (2026-01-15). "How do push button color codes indicate different functions". SENTOP Electrical Co., Ltd. Retrieved 2026-10-16.
- 1 2 3 Wills, Matthew (2021-05-11). "When the Push Button Was New, People Were Freaked". JSTOR Daily. Retrieved 2023-01-09.
- ↑ Little, Becky (2018-01-03). "What Is the Nuclear 'Button' and Where Did It Come From?". HISTORY. Retrieved 2026-10-16.
- ↑ "at/with the push/touch of a button | meaning of at/with the push/touch of a button in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English | LDOCE". www.ldoceonline.com. Archived from the original on 2022-11-16. Retrieved 2026-10-16.
Further reading
[edit]- Rachel Plotnick, Power Button: A History of Pleasure, Panic and the Politics of Pushing, MIT Press, 2018, ISBN 9780262038232, reviewed in David Trotter, "Making doorbells ring", London Review of Books 22 November 2018
External links
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- Spring Return Button by Sándor Kabai, The Wolfram Demonstrations Project.
