GAS-BLAST SWITCH

A gas-blast switch preferably suitable for switching high voltage has two arc contacts which can be moved relatively to each other along an axis, and heating and a compression volume concentrically to the axis. quenching gas is compressed in the compression volume by means of a compression slider. As soon as the gas pressure is sufficiently high, a pare of the quenching gas flows via a back-pressure valve into the heating volume and there assists in blasting an arc, drawn during a switching-off process between the arc contacts, in the case of small currents in the case of which the heating generates a comparatively low quenching gas pressure in the heating volume. In this switch, the switching-off capacity is to be increased with simultaneous reduction of the actuating energy.