An old TV screen contains CRT, CRT stands for Cathode Ray Tube. Normally, the CRT TVs contain one or more electron guns, a vacuum tube, and a screen that is slightly curved. This is all old TVs have.
There are two types of TVs. The old TV is called a CRT and the modern TV is called the Flat Screen TV. Flat Screen TV has some types which are called LED (Light Emitting Diode) TVs, LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) TVs, OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode), etc.
These TVs have been given their names due to the technology used in them. Let us see what is inside of an old TV screen. The electron guns emit beams of electrons. The beams travel through the vacuum tube and strike the screen in order to create actual images on the screen.
Electron guns emit three beams of electrons continuously, these beams get deflected by the magnets that are sort of wrapped around the tube in order to direct the beams precisely where they have to strike on the screen because the beams do not strike on the entire screen at once, rather they strike at a particular location on the screen illuminating only the phosphorus dots at that location.
These beams scan the screen rapidly line by line horizontally. The scanning speed is around 100 times per second. The vacuum tube is nothing but a vacuum. There is not even gas. The electron beams travel through this vacuum and then reach the screen. The screen of a CRT TV is made of glass. It is a thick layer of fluorescent glass that is coated with phosphorus from the inside.
The screen is made thick so that the beams can not penetrate through the glass. These beams are harmful if exposed to the human body. Due to the coating of phosphorus, the screen glows. When an electron beam hits the screen, it generates a spot of light. The phosphor absorbs the energy produced by the bombarding electrons and produces a lower-energy visual spectrum.
Some of the materials used for this process include zinc sulfide, calcium tungsten, and zinc orthosilicate.
Also Read: What To Do With An Old TV?
Is CRT Safe For The Environment?
All the electronics including old and modern TVs are not considered safe for the environment because they contain some harmful materials. You can not throw your old TV into the trash because of these harmful materials. CRT TVs as such do not contain as much harmful material as modern flat-screen TVs do.
There are some kinds of modern flat-screen TVs which are LED, LCD, etc. LED stands for Light Emitting Diode. These light-emitting diodes do not contain any harmful material but still, they are considered e-waste and are not allowed to be thrown away into the trash.
LCD on the other hand – stands for Liquid Crystal Display – contains some harmful chemicals, the worst of which is mercury. Mercury is too dangerous for the human body. If it is inhaled or ingested in any way, it can cause some serious health issues and mercury exposure issues.
You should bring your TV for recycling. When these TVs are recycled, they are broken down into individual parts. Chemicals are extracted from them, their parts are melted down to make new parts. The chemicals are then sent to the corresponding and registered factories to use in some other appliances.
The important is mercury, mercury can be used in mirrors, batteries, and thermometers or it can be used in new TVs again.
Detailed Summary About Inside An Old TV Screen:
When talking about old TVs, CRT comes to mind. CRT stands for Cathode Ray Tube. Old TVs like Cathode Ray Tubes contain one or more electron guns, a vacuum tube, and a phosphorus-coated fluorescent screen. The electron guns emit electron beams that travel through the vacuum tube and strike the phosphorus-coated fluorescent screen. The combined work of beams and the screen makes it possible for the actual images to appear on the screen.
The beams scan the screen line by line horizontally. The scanning of the beams is really fast, just around 100 times per second. These electronics are not considered safe for the environment. Thus, they are not allowed to be thrown into the trash. These are considered e-waste. The CRTs may not be as much harm as the flat-screen TVs.
Because they contain some dangerous chemicals. The worst of them is mercury which should not be exposed to the human body. If it gets exposed, inhaled, or ingested in any way, it can cause some serious mercury exposure issues and health risks.
These electronics should be disposed of properly and should be recycled. To recycle them, there are stores available in almost every country that accept old TVs for recycling. In recycling, these TVs are broken down into individual parts and then the parts can be used to manufacture some other products or are used to manufacture new TVs.
You can also sell them online or to local second-hand stores. You can also donate them to charity, to a school that can accept them, or to some friend who needs or wants your TV. I hope this guide is enough for you to properly understand what is inside an old TV.
