The story of Television

This is a story about how Television went from clunky (awkwardly heavy and outdated) boxes to windows into another world. It all started way back, almost a century ago, with a curious German scientist named Karl.

The year was 1897. In a German laboratory (a room or building for scientific experiments), physicist (a scientist who studies physics) Karl Ferdinand Braun wasn’t aiming for entertainment, but for scientific exploration (the action of investigating or examining). He tinkered with a device (a tool or instrument) called a Crookes tube, a glass vessel (a container) filled with a near-vacuum (space devoid of matter). Inside, an electric current propelled (pushed forward) a stream of invisible rays – cathode rays (streams of electrons) – discovered earlier by Julius Plücker. Braun’s innovation (a new method or idea)? He added a fluorescent (glowing when exposed to light) screen, transforming these invisible rays into a faint glow. This “Braun tube,” the first cathode ray tube (CRT), was the crude ancestor (early form) of the television.

Decades later, in 1927, a young inventor Philo Farnsworth took the challenge (a difficult task). Philo wasn’t satisfied with just a glow; he wanted moving pictures, just like our eyes see the world. Inspired by how we see, he used that same cathode ray tube idea and created a magic trick – he could scan a picture, turn it into electrical signals, and then zap those signals back onto the screen, recreating (making again) the original image! Boom! Electronic television was born.

What Farnsworth used was an electron beam (a stream of electrons) in a CRT to scan a light-sensitive plate, converting light variations into electrical signals. These signals, when scanned back across a CRT screen coated (covered with a layer) with phosphors (materials that emit light when exposed to radiation), recreated the original image.

But the CRT had limitations (restrictions). The bulky tubes were heavy on energy consumption and limited in screen size. The quest (search) for a better display continued. Enter the humble LED, a light-emitting diode – a tiny semiconductor (material that conducts electricity under some conditions) that glowed when electricity passed through it. The first practical LEDs, developed in the 1960s, were clunky and primarily red. However, scientists like Nick Holonyak relentlessly (without stopping) experimented, eventually achieving (reaching) a spectrum (range) of colors.

The turning point came in the late 20th century. Researchers figured out how to mass-produce tiny, efficient blue LEDs. This completed the RGB (red, green, blue) color triad (group of three), crucial (essential) for displaying a full-color image. Companies like Samsung and LG began crafting (creating) the first LED televisions. These early models used edge-lit backlighting, with rows of LEDs placed along the edges of the screen. The light then diffused (spread out evenly) across the panel, resulting in some limitations in contrast and uniformity.

The fight wasn’t over. Scientists continued refining (improving) LED technology. Full-array backlighting emerged, placing LEDs directly behind the screen, allowing for more precise control over individual pixels (tiny dots that make up the screen). This led to deeper blacks, brighter whites, and superior color accuracy. The resolution (sharpness) race also took off, with pixel density (number of pixels per inch) increasing dramatically, offering viewers an image so sharp it seemed to come alive.

Today, CRTs are relics (objects from the past) of the past. LED televisions dominate living rooms, with OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) technology pushing the boundaries even further. The journey from Braun’s flickering glow to today’s ultra-realistic displays is a testament (evidence) to scientific progress, forever changing how we experience the world through the window of television.

Today for your living room Television, big titans clash for dominance (control). Samsung, the undisputed champion with a whopping 19.8% market share and LG, its eternal rival holding 12.8% of the market. TCL, Sony, and Hisense control the rest of the market. Out of 10, approximately 4 households use a Samsung or LG television.

English words your learned or Revised

Clunky (awkwardly heavy and outdated), laboratory (a room or building for scientific experiments), physicist (a scientist who studies physics), exploration (the action of investigating or examining), device (a tool or instrument), vessel (a container), vacuum (space devoid of matter), propelled (pushed forward), cathode rays (streams of electrons), innovation (a new method or idea), fluorescent (glowing when exposed to light), ancestor (early form), challenge (a difficult task), recreating (making again), electron beam (a stream of electrons), coated (covered with a layer), phosphors (materials that emit light when exposed to radiation), limitations (restrictions), quest (search), semiconductor (material that conducts electricity under some conditions), relentlessly (without stopping), achieving (reaching), spectrum (range), triad (group of three), crucial (essential), crafting (creating), diffused (spread out evenly), refining (improving), pixels (tiny dots that make up the screen), resolution (sharpness), density (number of pixels per inch), relics (objects from the past), testament (evidence), dominance (control).

You have learned 34 words in the story and also learned about science and history of Television

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