LCD Televisions: Thinking About Buying One?

LCD is short for Liquid Crystal Diode. They are everywhere these days, and most people couldn't get through their day without using one. This technology is utilized in digital clocks, microwave ovens, car dashboards, stereos and calculators, just to name a few. The applications for liquid crystal displays are almost limitless, so it is not suprising that this technology has revolutionized the most basic home appliance of all, the television set.

The way LCD works is by utilizing a crystal "liquid." The twisted nematic (TN) liquid crystal is the most common type of liquid crystal being used in display applications today. It has a naturally twisted crystalline structure. A particular feature of this crystal is that it reacts to electric currents in predictable ways, by untwisting to varying degrees depending on the voltage of the current to which it is exposed. LCD monitors work by blocking light. By sandwiching a solution of TN liquid crystals between two perpendicularly aligned panes of polarized glass, it becomes possible to manipulate the intensity of light as it passes through this crystalline matrix and out through the glass panel at the other end. Depending on the voltage of the electrical charge running through them, liquid crystals will untwist so that the intensity of light able to pass through the second polarized pane is affected. Basically, these displays can switch between light states, in which the liquid crystals are fully twisted, and dark states in which the liquid crystals are fully untwisted. Displays can also be in between, somewhere along the gray scale.