One of the newest crazes to hit the television industry over the last ten years is plasma televisions. Commonly seen in sizes thirty-seven inches and larger, this type of television uses two noble gases - neon and xenon - that mixes together in small cells between two plates of glass to create plasma when electrified.
The plasma emits light and with subpixels found in the cells the gas inhabits, pretty much every color of the rainbow is formed and properly displayed.Plasma technology is not as new as everyone thinks. The first plasma display was developed in 1964 at the University of Illinois and was used primarily for computer screens.
The original colors that the plasma screen displayed were monochrome, usually orange or green on a black background, and sometimes even yellow.
These screens were very popular in the 1970's because of their low maintenance, large screen size and relatively small profile. IBM followed suit and produced their own plasma screens in 1983, and in 1997, Pioneer sold the first plasma television set.
While plasma televisions are still holding their own in the current electronics market, they are beginning to decline in popularity as newer LCD (liquid-crystal display) models are advancing to the forefront.
One of the biggest drawbacks of a plasma set is the screen burn-in. This is where one image has been displayed for a long period of time and a 'ghost' of the image has burned into the screen. This never goes away and the quality of the picture will continue to decrease over time.