Who Else Wants To Know What The Devil A Plasma TV Is?

Feb 6
08:36

2009

Charlie Cory

Charlie Cory

  • Share this article on Facebook
  • Share this article on Twitter
  • Share this article on Linkedin

So what is a plasma TV, other than something that takes up half your living room? Discover why something so big can be so elegant.

mediaimage

People talk about plasma TVs and rave about how good they actually are,Who Else Wants To Know What The Devil A Plasma TV Is? Articles but what exactly is a plasma TV? I hate it when people talk about things and I do not have a clue about what it is that they are talking about, so I did some investigating for myself.

In simple terms, a plasma TV is a television with a screen that is made of millions of tiny inert gas-filled, phosphor covered coloured cells, trapped between two panes of glass. When electricity passes through these cells, the gases are turned into plasma, which excites the phosphors to emit light. The combination of coloured cells produce the picture that you see on a TV picture.

In practical terms, plasma TVs have approximately twice the life of televisions that use older technology. Because the weight of the component parts is relatively small, a plasma TV can be much larger than its older counterparts. Imagine a 60 inch television using the old fashioned tubing to make them work. It would be so heavy that you would need a bulldozer to move it. The equivalent plasma TV would only be a couple of inches thick.

And for a more technical explanation pf plasma TVs (take a deep breath).

An electrically neutral, highly ionised substance composed of ions, electrons, and neutral particles. Plasma contains almost equal numbers of free electrons and positive ions. In a plasma the electrons have been stripped away from the central nucleus. Therefore, a plasma consists of a sea of ions and electrons and is a very good conductor of electricity and is affected by magnetic fields. When enough heat is applied to electrons, they are separated from their respective nucleus.

There are many stories circulating around about plasma TVs, one of which is to do with their longevity. As mentioned earlier, they can live up to twice as long as conventional TVs, but this is affected by how much you use them. A plasma TV that is turned on all day, every day will not last as long as a TV that is only used occasionally. Whilst this is common sense, you should also bear in mind that the same logic can be applied to other TVs.

Having learned what a plasma TV actually is, why not take it a step further and compare plasma TV prices. You might actually be surprised as to how reasonable the prices of some of these TVs has become.