Contact arrangement for vacuum switches

In a contact arrangement for use in a vacuum switch having means for generating a magnetic field in an axial direction of the switch including current loops, said contact arrangement containing a pair of contact members, each member having at least one contact surface for making contact with a contact surface of the other of the pair of members, said current loops generating different axial magnetic field strengths in the radial direction, the improvements comprising each of said contact members having at least one arc-focusing surface in the proximity of the contact surface, said arc-focusing surface of the pair being opposite each other in an axial direction, each of the contact members being shaped with the breaking arc arising only at the contact surface, said means creating the magnetic axial field with a smaller strength in the area of the contact surface than at each arc-focusing surface, and each of said contact members being composed of a low-surge material in the region of the contact surface and a material with a higher breaking capability in the region of each of the arc-focusing surfaces.