Electrical switches. Top, left to right: circuit breaker, mercury switch, wafer switch, DIP switch, surface mount switch, reed switch. Bottom, left to right: wall switch (U.S. style), miniature toggle switch, in-line switch, push-button switch, rocker switch, microswitch. A switch is a mechanical device used to connect and disconnect a circuit at will. Switches cover a wide range of types, from subminiature up to industrial plant switching megawatts of power on high voltage distribution lines. In applications where multiple switching options are required (e.g., a telephone service), mechanical switches have long been replaced by electronic switching devices which can be automated and intelligently controlled. The prototypical model is perhaps a mechanical device (for example a railroad switch) which can be disconnected from one course and connected to another. The switch is referred to as a "gate" when abstracted to mathematical form. In the philosophy of logic, operational arguments are represented as logic gates. The use of electronic gates to function as a system of logical gates is the fundamental basis for the computer?i.e. a computer is a system of electronic switches which function as logical gates.