<p>aright I might be making some comp fanatics a little angry, or this might actually be common knowledge and in that case I’ll be embarassed… but *** is an LCD flat panel? :/</p>
<p>yes it is.</p>
<p>Liquid Crystal Display</p>
<p>ahh… sounds… fancy? haha I dunno.</p>
<p>My knowledge of computers is despicable</p>
<p>it’s a flat monitor, like an inch from front to back… It takes up very little room on the desk so it’s nice, compared to the old monitors that look like boxes. Heh it is hard to describe in non-technical terms.</p>
<p>Basically you have this liquid crystal substrate (in electronics it is often of the twisted nematic [TN] variety) in front of a light source. Electrical current is applied that causes a the crystal to twist/untwist a precise ammount based on the voltage. It is this twisting effect that allows specific ammounts of back lighting to either pass through or be blocked. The advantage is that you need very little space between the back light and the substrate, allowing for thin/flat pannels. The downside is that there is typically a delay in the physical twisting, sometimes this can be noticeable. Contrast is typically lower then a good CRT monitor. Also, because of the picky nature of the LCD production process, often there is geometry distortion and dead pixels (pixels stuck in the on or off posistion)
CRT or cathode ray tube are the traditional heavy, boxy monitors you used to see. Also what alot of cheaper TVs are still made out of. Here an electron gun fires high speed electrons at a phosphorescent screen. The electron causes the phosphorescent pixel to light up bright. The pixels are packed into groups of three colors: Red, Green, and Blue. Depending on which pixels get hit with electrons, you can get a mix of colors for each pixel. The electron beam is controlled by magnets which bend the beam and allow it to strike different parts of the screen (If you’re an engineer you get to do this in Physics 213). The advantages (in a well made CRT) are supperior contrast and color reproduction. The disadvantage is the size, you need a certain distance between the electron gun and the screen. The larger the screen, the longer the distance.
I apoligize for any technical inaccuracies or spelling mistakes. I’ve been drinking some Speyburn 10 year old single malt scotch and I’m kinda drunk :)</p>
<p>hmmm… yea I think my brain absorbed levelone’s summary a little better haha.</p>