The switch is the actual object that you switch up and down. In a single pole switches there is a spring loaded metal gate inside the switch that opens and closes the electrical circuit leading to the light fixture.

Light Switch Inside House With Door Frame Stock Photo Alamy
Inside a light switch. The plate serves as the aesthetic barrier that covers the hole in the wall. These have three terminals usually marked c l1 l2. Remember to recycle kids. You can see in the figure that the current runs through the switch. And mr light switch that is now dead. A one way switch has two terminals.
When the switch is on current flows along the black wire through the switch to the light and then returns to ground through the white wire to complete the circuit. Behind the plate are the inner workings of the main light switch. When you toggle the level to the on position the gate snaps closed completes the circuit and allows power to flow through the switch and onward to the light fixture. Used for normal lighting circuits with a single switch controlling one or more lights. In this video we look at how light switches work in this video we look at a simple one gang one way switch as well as a one gang two way switch as well as an intermediate switch. The switch simply opens off or closes on the connection between the two terminals on the switch.
In one position the terminals are connected together in the other the terminals are not connected. The first and foremost parts of the light switch are the parts that everyone deals with on a day to day basis. The switch and the plate.