Flat panel display facts for kids

Flat panel display is the name for a number of devices which are either used as computer screens, as televisions, or to display information; for example at an airport. Most of them use Liquid Crystal display technology; which is newer than cathode ray tubes.

The most common display technologies are:

Twisted Nematic (or TN) displays are cheap to produce, but usually they do not have good color rendition. Very often, the viewing angle is limited. Looking at the display from a greater angle changes the colors noticeably.
In-Plane Switching is a technology that has a very good color rendition, and that does not suffer from the limited field of view. IPS displays are more expensive to produce, and they also show a slower reaction time than TN.

Images for kids

Information on two types of flat-panel display at the Zürich Hauptbahnhof railway station: an orange LED display (top right) and a LCD screen (bottom)
An LCD screen used as an information display for travellers
A large LED display at the Taipei Arena displays commercials and movie trailers.
Amazon's Kindle Keyboard e-reader displaying a page of an e-book. The Kindle's image of the book's text will remain onscreen even if the battery runs out, as it is a static screen technology. Without power, however, the user cannot change to a new page.