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Q:
Which company was the first to make a flatscreen?
- Tom Nijns (age 18)
Karel De Grote hogeschool, Belgium
A:
As odd as it may seem, the first people to develop the flat screen
display was the Us Military in the 1960's. The displays came to
consumer electronics some time later with the help of Fujistsu and
Mistsubishi.
The reason that the screens can be more flat and especially more
thin is because they do not use the standard cathode ray tube like
curved televisions and computer monitors do. The cathode ray tube
involves an electron beam that sweeps across the screen. In order to
hit every spot head on, the screen has to be curved. In order to
correct this, manufacturers use Liquid Crystal Displays (LCDs) and
Plasma Display Panels (PDPs). LCDs use a crystal that absorbs more or
less light depending on the voltage applied to it. PDPs work like
millions of tiny florescent light bulbs. The gas inside heats up and
then gives off light.
Adam
(published on 10/22/2007)
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