Who Invented Plasma Television?

Many people the world over enjoy the benefits of a plasma screen television. The colors are brighter, the contrast is higher, and the image is sharper. The plasma screen certainly seems to be a modern marvel of the digital age. But when you find out who invented plasma television, you'll discover it's much older than most people think.

At the University of Illinois in the summer of 1964, Donald Blitzer, H. Gene Slottow and Robert Willson unveiled the first A.C. plasma display panel. Blitzer and Slottow, both professors at the university, and Willson, a graduate student, were originally working on a project to make computer use in inner city schools more efficient. They believed that the computer had the potential to be used as an educational learning device. So they developed the PLATO system, or “Programmed Logic for Automated Teaching Operations,” which displayed computer graphics on ordinary television sets.

Television sets displayed images and graphics through cathode ray tube displays. These displays consisted of images that needed to continually and constantly refresh, which was perfect for watching television broadcasts, but was not sufficient for displaying the type of computer graphics applied by the PLATO system. As the program expanded and more computer terminals were in demand, Blitzer, Slottow and Willson concluded that using ordinary television sets was becoming inefficient. TVs used up far too much computer memory in the refreshing of images, and using a separate television channel for each student would soon become impossible with their resources.

The trio began work on the first plasma screen system. It consisted of a single cell situated between two flat panes of glass. Sealed inside the cell were noble gases, a mix of neon and xenon. The gases were electrically turned into plasma which excited phosphors, creating light. That first plasma display, unveiled in July of 1964, consisted of one plasma cell and displayed an orange hue. Later screens displayed green or yellow hues.

Blitzer, Slottow and Wilson continued to refine their invention and in 1966 developed a multi colored panel that used gas rich in ultraviolet frequencies and color phosphors. Blitzer received an award in 1967 which stated that his newer plasma system was one of the most important inventions on 1966. Television manufacturers considered adopting the plasma screen technology invented by the trio, but soon postponed the idea with the invention of Liquid Crystal Display (LCD).

Modern plasma televisions use basically the same technology as used by Blitzer, Slottow and Willson, but on a different scale. While the original plasma screen contained one plasma cell, modern examples hold millions of tiny cells which emit red, green, and blue light. These three colors are referred to as the primary colors of light and together can create any color needed on screen. With millions of tiny phosphorous gas cells working together, modern plasma screens can create some of the sharpest and clearest definition ever experienced in electronic image displays. What began in 1964 as a means to improve an inner city computer based learning program became a modern revolution in twenty-first century home entertainment.

And you can now get these great televisions at a relatively low price. Visit out plasma tv store and see the great prices on all the top brands and models available.