| So what is a plasma TV, other than something that | | | | And for a more technical explanation pf plasma TVs |
| takes up half your living room? Discover why | | | | (take a deep breath). |
| something so big can be so elegant. | | | | An electrically neutral, highly ionised substance |
| People talk about plasma TVs and rave about how | | | | composed of ions, electrons, and neutral particles. |
| good they actually are, but what exactly is a plasma | | | | Plasma contains almost equal numbers of free |
| TV? I hate it when people talk about things and I do | | | | electrons and positive ions. In a plasma the electrons |
| not have a clue about what it is that they are talking | | | | have been stripped away from the central nucleus. |
| about, so I did some investigating for myself. | | | | Therefore, a plasma consists of a sea of ions and |
| In simple terms, a plasma TV is a television with a | | | | electrons and is a very good conductor of electricity |
| screen that is made of millions of tiny inert gas-filled, | | | | and is affected by magnetic fields. When enough heat |
| phosphor covered coloured cells, trapped between | | | | is applied to electrons, they are separated from their |
| two panes of glass. When electricity passes through | | | | respective nucleus. |
| these cells, the gases are turned into plasma, which | | | | There are many stories circulating around about |
| excites the phosphors to emit light. The combination of | | | | plasma TVs, one of which is to do with their longevity. |
| coloured cells produce the picture that you see on a | | | | As mentioned earlier, they can live up to twice as long |
| TV picture. | | | | as conventional TVs, but this is affected by how much |
| In practical terms, plasma TVs have approximately | | | | you use them. A plasma TV that is turned on all day, |
| twice the life of televisions that use older technology. | | | | every day will not last as long as a TV that is only |
| Because the weight of the component parts is | | | | used occasionally. Whilst this is common sense, you |
| relatively small, a plasma TV can be much larger than | | | | should also bear in mind that the same logic can be |
| its older counterparts. Imagine a 60 inch television using | | | | applied to other TVs. |
| the old fashioned tubing to make them work. It would | | | | Having learned what a plasma TV actually is, why not |
| be so heavy that you would need a bulldozer to move | | | | take it a step further and compare plasma TV prices. |
| it. The equivalent plasma TV would only be a couple | | | | You might actually be surprised as to how reasonable |
| of inches thick. | | | | the prices of some of these TVs has become. |