Plasma display facts for kids
Plasma display panels (PDPs) are a type of screen used in some televisions. They are much thinner than older cathode ray tube (CRT) TVs and often show a clearer picture. While they were once very popular, fewer TVs use plasma screens today.
Plasma screens are made from two sheets of glass with tiny spaces in between. These thousands of tiny spaces, called chambers, are filled with two special gases: xenon and neon. Behind each chamber are tiny red, blue, and green materials called phosphors. When electricity flows into these chambers, the gases light up. This light then makes the colored phosphors glow, creating the right colors you see on your screen. This process is quite similar to how fluorescent lamps work.
Plasma screens have been around since 1964, but back then, they could only show two colors. Over time, the technology improved a lot. Now, we have high-definition plasma screens that can be as big as 150 inches! In the early 2000s, fewer plasma screens were made because more people started buying liquid crystal display (LCD) TVs.
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Why Plasma TVs Are Great
Plasma TVs have many tiny dots, called pixels, packed closely together. This means they can create a much sharper and clearer image than older CRT screens. If you look closely at a plasma screen, you won't see any lines, which were common on old CRT TVs. Most plasma screens also have a widescreen option, so you can watch movies just like they are shown in movie theaters. They are also perfect for modern digital TV broadcasts.
One big advantage of plasma TVs is how much space they save. Old CRT TVs needed a lot of depth for their technology to work, so the bigger the screen, the deeper the TV. A typical plasma TV is only about 6 to 8 inches deep. This slim design means you can easily hang your plasma TV on a wall, freeing up floor space. Plus, you can usually see the picture clearly from almost any angle in the room, even from the side (about 180 degrees).
Plasma screens are also quite light, especially compared to big rear-projection TVs. A 40-inch plasma TV might weigh between 50 and 80 pounds (23 to 36 kg). If you get the right wall bracket, hanging it up is easy. Just make sure the bracket can hold the TV's weight. Many brackets can also tilt, letting you adjust the viewing angle.
Plasma TVs can show up to 16 million colors, making them great for watching TV shows and playing the latest video games on your computer. Most plasma TVs have connections for HDMI and laptop computers. This makes them useful for displaying products or sales messages in offices and shops too. You'll also find them easy to watch even on a sunny day or in a very bright room, unlike older CRT screens.
Things to Consider About Plasma TVs
Because of how plasma TVs create images, it's possible for a faint outline of an image to stay on the screen, even when you're watching something else. This is called 'burn-in.' It's more of a concern in places like shops where the same image might be shown for a long time. You can usually avoid burn-in by making sure the screen doesn't show the same picture for too long (sometimes as little as 20 minutes). Just turn the TV off or change the channel.
While plasma TVs are much brighter than old rear-projection TVs, newer direct-view TVs and LCD TVs are often even brighter. Although the latest plasma TVs have improved their brightness, it's still best not to view them in extremely bright or sunny areas.
Even though plasma TVs are much lighter and thinner than older direct-view and rear-projection TVs, LCD TVs can be even lighter and slimmer. LCD TVs use similar technology to what's found in most laptop computers. However, plasma TVs are available in larger sizes than LCD TVs. Generally, plasma screen TVs cost more than older CRT TVs and even some LCDs.
How Long Do Plasma TVs Last?
Compared to some other TV technologies, plasma TVs have a shorter lifespan. Most manufacturers estimate that plasma TVs will last between 20,000 and 30,000 hours. This is often called the 'half-life' because it's the number of hours after which the TV's brightness might drop by about half.
Plasma TVs can also break more easily than some other types, and their parts can be damaged if not handled carefully. They should always be moved with care. As technology has improved, newer plasma screens have a much longer life. You can expect about 30,000 hours of use. To give you an idea, that's like having your TV on for 16 hours a day, every day, for about 5 years! By the time your TV needs replacing, even better high-definition models will likely be available.
Are Plasma TVs Worth the Money?
When plasma televisions first came out for home use, they were very expensive. A basic small model could cost as much as US$5,000! But as the technology got better and more were made, the prices dropped. In the 21st century, some 37-inch models sold for $1,000 or even less. Eventually, buying a CRT television became rare as LCD TVs became the most common type.
Images for kids
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Panasonic plasma TV of the last generation. 55 inch. Middle class ST60 series. (2013)
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Ionized gases such as the ones shown here are confined to millions of tiny individual compartments across the face of a plasma display, to collectively form a visual image.
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An example of a plasma display that has suffered severe burn-in from static text
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Plasma displays were first used in PLATO computer terminals. This PLATO V model illustrates the display's monochromatic orange glow seen in 1981.
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Plasma displays became 75% thinner between 2006 and 2011
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See also
In Spanish: Pantalla de plasma para niños
