Definition

Noun: A colour tube is a cathode-ray tube within a television set that is specifically designed to produce a full-color image on its screen. It is the core display component of traditional color television sets.

Usage

The term colour tube is used to specifically refer to the physical, evacuated glass component in a television or monitor that generates a colored picture through the excitation of phosphors by electron beams. It distinguishes color displays from earlier monochrome (black-and-white) tubes.

Examples

• The technician diagnosed the problem with the old television as a failing colour tube.
• Early colour tubes were more complex and expensive to manufacture than their monochrome counterparts.
• Modern flat-panel displays have largely replaced the bulky colour tube in television design.

Advanced Usage

• The term is primarily technical and historical, associated with the era of cathode-ray tube (CRT) technology. In contemporary discussions about display technology, terms like "CRT," "picture tube," or simply "tube" are more common, with the color aspect being assumed.

Variants and Related Words

• Color picture tube: A more descriptive full term.
• CRT (Cathode-Ray Tube): The broader technical category that includes both monochrome and color tubes.
• Picture tube: A general term that can refer to either monochrome or color tubes, depending on context.
• Trinitron™: A famous proprietary type of aperture-grille colour tube developed by Sony.
• Shadow mask: A key component inside a colour tube that helps direct electron beams to the correct colored phosphor dots.

Synonyms

• Color CRT
• Color picture tube

Notes on Different Meanings

• The term colour tube refers exclusively to the television display component. It is not used to describe a tube of paint or any other cylindrical container (which would simply be a "tube of colour").

Noun

1. a television tube that displays images in full color