The History of the CRT

The Cathode Ray Tube and Electronic television is the picture tube found in modern monitors. A cathode ray tube or CRT is a specialized vacuum tube in which images are produced when an electron beam strikes a phosphorescent surface. Television sets, computers, oscilloscopes, automated teller machines, arcade games, video cameras, monitors, and radar displays are common examples. Phosphor screens using multiple electron beams allow CRTs to display millions of colors.

CRT Timeline

1859 - Julius Plucker, a German mathematician and physicist, first identifies cathode rays.

1878 - Sir William Crookes was able to prove cathode rays existed by providing working examples cathode ray tubes with the Crookes tube. His invention proved to be the prototype for future CRT's.

1897 - CRT oscilloscope invented by German, Karl Ferdinand Braun. Called the Braun Tube, it morphed into television and radar tubes in modern history.

1929 - the kinescope cathode ray tube was invented by Vladimir Kosma Zworykin. It formed some of the first television systems.

1931 - Allen B. Du Mont invented the first reproducible CRT used on television sets.

Cathode Rays improved monumentally with the Discovery of the Electron. New monitors based on the science of the cathode ray and the electron paved the way for the modern displays in all business and consumer fields.