Plasma televisions are today a popular product and are used by millions of people around the world. However, little is known about the history of the plasma television, when it was first invented, and how it became so popular. Here we trace the development of this technology and who played a key role along the way.
It all started with a Hungarian scientist named Kálmán Tihanyi, an engineer who had previously designed television-based guidance systems for defense applications, including prototypes of an optically controlled pilotless aircraft. He would also make significant contributions to the design of cathode ray tubes. In 1936, Tihanyi described the basic principles of plasma television.
These ideas were taken up by David Bitzer, H Gene Slottow and Robert Wilson at the University of Illinois, who together gave birth to the monochrome (black and white) plasma display in 1964. This display was part of a computer system project. (by the PLATO name PLATO went out of business in 1996, but by the way, it was a pioneer of the major internet-based concepts we now know as forums, message boards, email, chat rooms, picture languages , instant messaging, remote screen sharing and multiplayer games.
Another key figure in the development of plasma displays was Larry F Webber, who did postgraduate studies with Bitzer and Slottow in the 1960s. Webbers’ research efforts would eventually earn him 15 related patents.
Fujitsu manufactured the world’s first full-color plasma display in 1992. The same company was also responsible for the first 42-inch plasma display in 1997. Philips and Pioneer also began selling plasma displays to the general public this year. .
Until the year 2000, plasma was the most popular choice for flat panel displays, as it had a number of advantages over competing technologies (particularly LCD displays). However, significant improvements have narrowed that gap; the advantage when it comes to large screens and this is confirmed by Panasonic introducing a 152″ 2160p 3D plasma display in 2010.
