Cathode-Ray Tube

(C-R-T)

Technically, this is the tube you watch in a television or computer monitor. Common use has also made CRT refer to the entire computer monitor. The patent for the CRT is held by Vladimir Kosma Zworykin.

The name comes from the negative electrode in the neck of the CRT. Originally, this was said to have emitted cathode rays (really just simple electrons). The electrons are accelerated toward the face of the tube where they hit phosphor spots to make them glow. Magnetic fields direct the beam to spots on the tube face in order to form a pattern. The horizontal component is typically known as a raster; current density controls spot intensity. Each spot is called a pixel. The phosphor on the tube persists for some time allowing your brain to see a fixed image instead of seeing the individual scans and dots.

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