"On their new 150-inch screen; 'Can you imagine watching the Olympics on this baby?'"
Toshihiro Sakamoto, Panasonic president
The plasma screen was invented in 1964 by Donald Bitzer, Gene Slottow, and Robert Wilson at the University of Illinois. It was an alternative to the traditional television set that used an electron gun inside a glass tube to excite atoms of phosphorous coated on the inside of the screen, making them glow. The need for the electron gun and tube meant that a normal television set required depth, making it bulky.
The plasma screen uses different technology. Just behind the screen are hundreds of thousands of tiny cells containing xenon and neon gas, with electrodes behind them. An electric charge from these electrodes cart make the gas temporarily become a glowing ionized gas—a plasma. The same physics underlie the tendrils in a plasma ball, as well as the aurora.
Unlike traditional televisions, plasma screens do not flicker, and this was one of the reasons behind their creation. People using computers for long periods would be much less likely to suffer headache and eyestrain. However, the most obvious benefit of plasma screens is that, because they do not need an electron gun and tube, the display unit can be thin and light enough to mount on a wall.
For the true television aficionado, plasma screens with a diagonal measurement of 150 inches (380 cm) are available, but the purchaser needs a room at least 30 feet (9m) long to get the most out of one.
