Plasma Screen TVs

Plasma screen televisions are the latest addition to the new TV technology frenzy. Without even knowing what they are, plasma screens seem really cool--probably because of their sexy futuristic-sounding name. But what exactly are plasma TVs and how do they work? Let's take a look.

How Plasma TVs Work

Many people confuse plasma and LCD televisions. Since they both have a similar-looking picture and they're both very thin, it's easy to assume that they work using similar technology. In fact, they don't. LCD screens use liquid crystals to produce the image you're seeing on screen, while plasma displays work using charged gases.

Each plasma screen is made up of thousands (or millions, depending on the size of the screen) of tiny chambers. Each of these chambers is filled with plasma, which is basically a highly ionized substance that behaves like a gas. And the walls of each chamber are covered with colored phosphors, which light up when exposed to ultraviolet light. The easiest way to think about these chambers is to compare them to a fluorescent light bulb. Like fluorescent bulbs, the walls of the chamber light up when the chamber is charged with electricity.

The picture on a plasma TV is produced by sending charges to these individual plasma chambers. When a charge is sent, the plasma emits ultraviolet light that hits the phosphor walls of the chamber, creating a visible source of light. The light from these thousands or millions of chambers (each representing one pixel) combines to form the image you see on your screen.