The switches can be used as triggers for nuclear weapons.
The switches can be expensive, as much as $10 million each, said John Hodulik, a telecommunications analyst with UBS Securities.
For people who don't have use of their hands, the switches can be tapped with the feet.
And even relatively simple voice-controlled devices like light switches can be a boon to people with physical disabilities or with poorly placed wall switches in their basements.
Research published last month by scientists at Rice University and Penn State indicate that the switches can be scaled down to a single molecule.
Automatic alarm systems and shut-off switches can be designed to make it nearly impossible for caregivers to do the wrong thing.
By the use of small, external, permanent magnets, reed switches can be made into latching relays that remain closed when the energizing field is removed.
The next step was to determine the maximum speed one can get from all that energy -- how rapidly the little switches can be flipped between 1 and 0, carrying out their calculations.
Infrared switches can be programmed to control interior doors and turn on and off most electrical devices simply, while a large computer mouse might be a much-needed solution for a child with limited motor skills.
A panel of dials and switches can be daunting, so Simulator includes a step-by-step tutorial in which the flight instructor, Rod, lectures you on how to fly a Cessna, explaining the principles of flight with a breezy wit.
Not all of these potential switches can be laid at the door of Warburton's dodgy hamstring, but it is certainly the case that his sudden disappearance has prompted a serious debate in all sorts of areas.
