ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Wire spring relay

Okay kiddo, have you ever seen a seesaw? It’s a board that can go up and down if two people sit on opposite ends. A wire spring relay is kind of like that seesaw, but instead of people, little metal pieces move up and down.

Imagine a long piece of wire that looks like a slinky. When you press a button, the slinky stretches and one end of it touches a metal piece. That metal piece then moves and connects to another metal piece, kinda like the seesaw going down on one end and up on the other end.

When those two metal pieces connect, electricity can flow through them and power something like a light bulb or a buzzer.

So if you push a button, the slinky-like wire stretches, presses against a metal piece, and makes it move to complete an electric circuit. This is how wire spring relays work!