  We study the asymptotic stability of a dissipative evolution in a Hilbert
space subject to intermittent damping. We observe that, even if the
intermittence satisfies a persistent excitation condition, if the Hilbert space
is infinite-dimensional then the system needs not being asymptotically stable
(not even in the weak sense). Exponential stability is recovered under a
generalized observability inequality, allowing for time-domains that are not
intervals. Weak asymptotic stability is obtained under a similarly generalized
unique continuation principle. Finally, strong asymptotic stability is proved
for intermittences that do not necessarily satisfy some persistent excitation
condition, evaluating their total contribution to the decay of the trajectories
of the damped system. Our results are discussed using the example of the wave
equation, Schr\"odinger's equation and, for strong stability, also the special
case of finite-dimensional systems.
