Plasma Televisions

A plasma display panel (PDP) is a type of flat panel display common to large TV displays (80 cm or larger). They are called "plasma" displays because the pixels rely on plasma cells, or what are in essence chambers more commonly known as fluorescent lamps.

A panel typically has millions of tiny cells in compartmentalized space between two panels of glass. These compartments, or "bulbs" or "cells", hold a mixture of noble gases and a minuscule amount of mercury.

Just as in the fluorescent lamps over an office desk, when the mercury is vaporized and a voltage is applied across the cell, the gas in the cells form a plasma. (A plasma is a collection of particles that respond strongly and collectively to electromagnetic fields or electrical charges, taking the form of gas-like clouds or ion beams.)

Plasma displays should not be confused with liquid crystal displays (LCDs), another lightweight flat-screen display using very different technology. LCDs may use one or two large fluorescent lamps as a backlight source, but the different colors are controlled by LCD units, which in effect behave as gates that allow or block the passage of light from the backlight to red, green, or blue paint on the front of the LCD panel.