scanning-disk

scanning-disk

A television engineer adjusts the scanning-disk in the early television apparatus.

Definition

Noun (countable): A scanning-disk is a mechanical device used in early television systems, consisting of a rotating disk with a spiral of holes, that breaks an image into a series of lines for transmission or scanning. It is also known as a "scanner" in historical television contexts.

Usage Examples
  • (A rotating disk with holes that scans the image line by line.)
  • (Different mechanical disks used for image scanning in early TV.)
  • (The device used for image decomposition before electronic scanning.)
Advanced Usage
  • "scanning-disk television": a type of early television system that uses a mechanical scanning-disk instead of electronic scanning.
    • Baird's scanning-disk television could only transmit simple shapes and shadows. (A television system based on a rotating disk with holes.)
  • "Nipkow disk": a specific type of scanning-disk invented by Paul Nipkow in 1884, which is the precursor to modern television scanning.
    • The Nipkow disk is the most historically significant scanning-disk design. (The original patent for a mechanical image scanner.)
Variants and Related Words
  • Scanning (noun/adj): the process of examining or reading systematically, especially line by line.
    • The scanning of the image was done mechanically by the disk. (The action of the disk breaking the image into lines.)
  • Disk (noun): a flat, circular object; in this context, the rotating plate with holes.
    • The disk rotated at high speed to scan the image. (The circular component of the scanning-disk.)
  • Scanner (noun): a device that scans, often referring to the scanning-disk in early television.
    • The scanner in the early TV set was a mechanical disk. (The scanning-disk used as a scanner.)
Synonyms
  • Nipkow disk: a specific historical term for a scanning-disk with a spiral pattern of holes.
  • Mechanical scanner: a broader term for any device that uses moving parts to scan images.
  • Image dissector: a related early electronic device, though not identical to a scanning-disk.
Related Idioms
  • There are no common idioms involving "scanning-disk," as it is a technical historical term. However, the phrase "line by line" is associated with its operation:
    • The scanning-disk worked line by line to transmit the picture. (One horizontal segment at a time, in sequence.)