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This paper presents the results of an investigation conducted on the switching behavior of copper oxide. The filamentary nature of the current and also the formation of a copper channel have been observed to be associated with the process of switching. The experiments and the analysis carried out by the authors show that the formation of copper channel is due only to a secondary process and is not responsible for the actual switching of the device to the low‐voltage mode. The switching, as is clear from the analysis, seems to be the result of a purely electrothermal process. The effect of the dimensions of the device on the V‐I characteristics is also discussed. It has further been shown that it is possible to prevent the formation of copper channel to obtain a monoshot type of switching transition.

The stress wave caused by a longitudinal impact at the end of a cylindrical bar has been analyzed in the case where the impact velocity is large enough to produce plastic strain. The theory gives a method for computing the stress distribution along the bar at any instant during impact. It is shown that for a given material, there is a critical impact velocity such that when subjected to a tension impact with a velocity higher than the critical, the material should break near the impacted end with negligible plastic strain. An experimental investigation was made concurrently with the theoretical study. Some of the most significant experimental results are presented in this paper.