terms SPST, SPDT and intermediate will be used to avoid the ambiguity. Contact bounce Bounce Contact bounce (also called chatter) is a common problem with mechanical switches and relays, which arises as the result of electrical contact resistance (ECR) phenomena at interfaces. Switch and relay contacts are usually made of springy metals. When the contacts strike together, their momentum and elasticity act together to cause them to bounce apart one or more times before making steady contact. The result is a rapidly pulsed electric current instead of a clean transition from zero to full current. The effect is usually unimportant in power circuits, but causes problems in some analogue and logic circuits that respond fast enough to misinterpret the on‑off pulses as a data stream. In the design of micro-contacts, controlling surface structure (surface roughness) and minimizing the formation of passivated layers on metallic surfaces are instrumental in inhibiting chatter. In the Hammond organ, multiple wires are pressed together under the piano keys of the manuals. Their bouncing and non-synchronous closing of the switches is known as Hammond Click and compositions exist that use and emphasize this feature. Some electronic organs have a switchable replica of this sound effect. Debouncing The effects of contact bounce can be eliminated by: use of mercury-wetted contacts, but these are now infrequently used because of the hazards of mercury. Alternatively, contact circuit voltages can be low-pass filtered to reduce or eliminate multiple pulses from appearing. In digital systems, multiple samples of the contact state can be taken at a low rate and examined for a steady sequence, so that contacts can settle before the contact level is considered reliable and acted upon.See also Keyboard technology #Debouncing. Bounce in SPDT ("single-pole, double-throw") switch contacts signals can be filtered out using an SR flip-flop (latch) or Schmitt trigger. All of these methods are referred to as 'debouncing'. Arcs and quenching When the power being switched is sufficiently large, the electron flow across opening switch contacts is sufficient to ionize the air molecules across the tiny gap between the contacts as the switch is opened, forming a gas plasma, also known as an electric arc. The plasma is of low resistance and is able to sustain power flow, even with the separation distance between the switch contacts steadily increasing. The plasma is also very hot and is capable of eroding the metal surfaces of the switch contacts