Pure water is an insulator. It is the added elements in water that make it conductor. For example adding salt converts water from insulator to conductor. Saline solution is made up of Sodium Chloride (salt) and water, which some IV bags contain.
This switch is a mock-up of an IV bag switch, by using a syringe (simulating the IV bag) and a clear straw (simulating an IV line) with saline solution.
By putting two cables at different heights on the IV lines, it creates an open switch. When the valve is opened, the solution will flow through the straw connecting the two wires (producing a make switch). What I like about the IV switch is that I am interested in ‘medicalization’ and the ‘medical gaze’ as discussed by Thomas Szasz, and Michel Foucault: “to denote the dehumanizing medical separation of the patient’s body from the patient’s person (identity)”. The IV switch promotes this theme which I will explore further for my final project.
