Arrangement for controlling circuit conductivity

Claim 1

AN ARRANGEMENT FOR SWITCHING AN ELECTRIC CIRCUIT, SAID ARRANGEMENT COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF CONDUCTIVE ELEMENTS ENMASSED TOGETHER, EACH OF SAID CONDUCTIVE ELEMENTS HAVING AN OXIDIZED SURFACE LAYER, TERMINAL MEANS DISPOSED ON A SURFACE AREA OF THE MASS OF SAID CONDUCTIVE ELEMENTS, ANOTHER TERMINAL MEANS DISPOSED ON ANOTHER MASS SURFACE AREA SPACED FROM THE FIRST MENTIONED MASS SURFACE AREA, EACH OF SAID TERMINAL MEANS BEING IN CONTACT WITH AT LEAST SOME OF SAID CONDUCTIVE ELEMENTS, SAID CONDUCTIVE ELEMENT OXIDIZED SURFACE LAYERS NORMALLY PRODUCING A DIELECTRIC BARRIER AGAINST CURRENT FLOW THROUGH THE MASS, EACH OF SAID CONDUCTIVE ELEMTNS HAVING SUFFICIENT SHORTNESS AND SUFFICIENTLY SMALL THICKNESS TO ASSURE THE ABSENCE OF A SHORT CIRCUIT PATH BETWEEN SAID TERMINAL MEANS AND THROUGH ANY SINGLE CONDUCTIVE ELEMENT IN THE MASS, MEANS FOR ACTIVATING THE MASS OF SAID CONDUCTIVE ELEMENTS INTO A CONDUCTIVE STATE SO AS TO FORM A CONDUCTIVE PATH BETWEEN SAID TERMINAL MEANS, AND MEANS FOR APPLYING DISTRIBUTED FORCE THROUGHOUT THE MASS OF SAID CONDUCTIVE ELEMENTS SO AS TO RETURN THE MASS TO A NONCONDUCTIVE STATE.