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How Do Plasma TVs Work? Everything You Need To Know

how do plasma tvs work? everything you need to know

Plasma TVs are an older technology than you might first believe, especially once you hear about everything that goes on inside of one to make the images. Compared to old-school CRT TVs or modern LCD TVs, plasma TVs have a very unique way of creating what you see on the screen. If you ever wanted to crack open your plasma TV for repairs, you must understand what’s going on inside of them. Here’s everything you need to know about how plasma TVs work to get you started.

The Pixel Cell

Just like pretty much every kind of screen available, a plasma screen is made up of extremely tiny squares called pixels. Every one of these pixels has a lot more going on inside of them than you might think at first. Each pixel cell has tiny amounts of gas inside of them, usually neon or xenon, and a coating of phosphor chemicals. To create the light you see coming from the screen, the TV must ionize these gas particles which allows them to generate ultraviolet light.

The Pixel Array

All of the many, many pixels inside of the plasma TV screen are set into an array with electrodes that run vertically and horizontally across them. These electrodes are the catalyst that begins the ionization inside each pixel. The array is made up of red, green, and blue pixels, determined by the phosphor chemical that coats them. This phosphor chemical is crucial for turning the ultraviolet light into visible light we can perceive.

Activating the Pixels

When the plasma TV receives a signal, the horizontal and vertical electrodes send a high voltage current across the pixels. This current begins the ionization of the gases inside each pixel, which causes them to generate ultraviolet light. We aren’t normally able to perceive ultraviolet light, so it passes through the phosphor chemicals inside each pixel. Depending on the color of the pixel, that color gets emitted through the screen and into your eyes.

This is a basic primer about everything you need to know about how a plasma TV works. If you’d like to know more, or if you need plasma TV components for your repairs, TV Parts for Sale can help you out. Our goal is to teach more people about how these pieces of technology work so they can take the repairs into their own hands if something goes wrong.

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