Gas-electronic switch (pseudospark switch)

A gas-electric switch (pseudospark switch) having a gas discharge chamber, which contains two metal electrodes, namely, a cathode and an anode, said cathode and said anode being separated within said gas discharge chamber by a specific cathode-anode gap, an electrically insulating wall made of ceramic material or glass disposed between said cathode and said anode, said wall being disposed adjacent distal ends of said electrodes, at least the cathode and preferably also the anode is formed with a hole and the electrodes consist of flat plates and are joined to the insulating wall by a tight metal-ceramic joint or fused joint, wherein the gas discharge chamber is filled with an ionizable low-pressure gas under such a pressure p that the product p.times.d has such a value that a gas discharge between the electrodes will be fired in response to a voltage applied thereto which is disposed in that branch of the firing voltage-pressure characteristic in which the firing voltage decreases as the pressure rises, characterized in that a cage is provided in the space behind the cathode and is constituted by a cavity, which is surrounded by a metal wall and has openings, which consist of the hole in the cathode and of at least one additional opening, which connects the cavity to the space behind the cathode,

• two additional electrodes are disposed in the space behind the cathode and are so connected in circuit that a low-pressure gas discharge can be sustained between them, so that when the switch is in a stand-by state, before the pseudospark between the cathode and the anode is fired, a small partial current of charge carriers will flow from the low-pressure gas discharge through the cavity and through the hole in the cathode to the anode.