This heavy glass envelope fires an electron beam from a heated cathode in the neck toward a phosphor-coated screen at the front. Magnetic deflection coils steer the beam in a raster pattern, causing the phosphors to glow and form an image. The technology dominated the display market for decades before being entirely replaced by flat-panel technologies like LCD and OLED.
Heard on the job
Careful lifting that arcade monitor, the picture tube weighs a ton and the neck is fragile.
Also heard as
- CRT
- cathode ray tube
Related terms
Cathode ray tube
A vacuum tube containing one or more electron guns and a phosphorescent screen used to display images.
CRT
A cathode-ray tube is a vacuum envelope containing an electron gun and a phosphorescent screen.
Vacuum tube
An evacuated glass or metal envelope containing electrodes used to control electron flow.