{"id":410232,"date":"2022-02-26T21:11:00","date_gmt":"2022-02-26T18:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/how-a-fraudulent-mp-and-a-brilliant-scientist-created-lcds-for-flat-screens\/"},"modified":"2022-02-26T21:11:00","modified_gmt":"2022-02-26T18:11:00","slug":"how-a-fraudulent-mp-and-a-brilliant-scientist-created-lcds-for-flat-screens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-a-fraudulent-mp-and-a-brilliant-scientist-created-lcds-for-flat-screens\/","title":{"rendered":"#How a fraudulent MP and a brilliant scientist created LCDs for flat-screens"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3bb9b1df54f\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3bb9b1df54f\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-a-fraudulent-mp-and-a-brilliant-scientist-created-lcds-for-flat-screens\/#Pixels_and_light\" >Pixels and light<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-a-fraudulent-mp-and-a-brilliant-scientist-created-lcds-for-flat-screens\/#And_now_the_liquid_crystal\" >And now the liquid crystal<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#How a fraudulent MP and a brilliant scientist created LCDs for flat-screens<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n                            In a laboratory at the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hull.ac.uk\">University of Hull<\/a> 50 years ago, a new chemical compound was created that would impact the world as much as any drug, fuel or material. The man responsible for this society-changing invention was <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/science\/2013\/may\/21\/george-gray\">George Gray<\/a> \u2013 his new liquid crystal molecules (now known as 5CB) made liquid crystal displays (LCDs) viable and kickstarted the multibillion-dollar flat-screen industry.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"align-right \">\n<figure class=\"post-image post-mediaBleed aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px\" alt=\"Professor George Gray. Image: Hull History Centre, Author provided\" width=\"600\" height=\"632\" class=\"js-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/446834\/original\/file-20220216-17-zhxy1a.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/446834\/original\/file-20220216-17-zhxy1a.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=632&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/446834\/original\/file-20220216-17-zhxy1a.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=632&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/446834\/original\/file-20220216-17-zhxy1a.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=632&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/446834\/original\/file-20220216-17-zhxy1a.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=794&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/446834\/original\/file-20220216-17-zhxy1a.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=794&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/446834\/original\/file-20220216-17-zhxy1a.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=794&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w\"\/><figcaption><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"#\" data-url=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Feditorial.thenextweb.com%2Ftech%2F2022%2F02%2F26%2Fhow-a-fraudulent-mp-and-a-brilliant-scientist-created-lcds-for-flat-screens%2F&amp;via=thenextweb&amp;related=thenextweb&amp;text=Check out this picture on: Professor George Gray. Image: Hull History Centre, Author provided\" data-title=\"Share Professor George Gray. Image: Hull History Centre, Author provided on Twitter\" data-width=\"685\" data-height=\"500\" class=\"post-image-share popitup\" title=\"Share Professor George Gray. Image: Hull History Centre, Author provided on Twitter\"><i class=\"icon icon--inline icon--twitter--dark\"\/><\/a>Professor George Gray. Image: Hull History Centre, Author provided<\/figcaption><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/446834\/original\/file-20220216-17-zhxy1a.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip\" alt=\"Professor George Gray. Image: Hull History Centre, Author provided\" width=\"600\" height=\"632\" class=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/446834\/original\/file-20220216-17-zhxy1a.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=632&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/446834\/original\/file-20220216-17-zhxy1a.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=632&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/446834\/original\/file-20220216-17-zhxy1a.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=632&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/446834\/original\/file-20220216-17-zhxy1a.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=794&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/446834\/original\/file-20220216-17-zhxy1a.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=794&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/446834\/original\/file-20220216-17-zhxy1a.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=794&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w\"\/><\/noscript><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The story begins back in 1967 when John Stonehouse, a Labour MP and minster for <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a> under Prime Minister Harold Wilson, established a group to develop a technology that had only just made its debut on Star Trek \u2013 a full colour flat-screen display.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately for Stonehouse, his amazing foresight has since been overshadowed by his attempt (in 1974) to <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/theguardian\/from-the-archive-blog\/2013\/apr\/26\/john-stonehouse-faked-death\">fake his own death<\/a> to avoid punishment for multiple counts of fraud and forgery.<\/p>\n<p>But before we get back to the colorful characters involved, let\u2019s take a look at the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/sciencee\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"5\" title=\"Science\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">science<\/a> of LCDs.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Pixels_and_light\"><\/span>Pixels and light<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Liquid crystals are a state of matter that sits between liquids and solids. They flow like a liquid, while the molecules within them maintain some order relative to each other, like in a crystal. The long and thin molecules pack against one another in an ordered rectangular arrangement of rows.<\/p>\n<p>Crucially, these liquid crystal structures can interact with light in interesting ways, and this is key to how they work within flat-screen displays. Each pixel within an LCD is comprised of a light source, usually a light-emitting diode (LED), and a thin layer of liquid crystals sandwiched between two filters that scientists describe as polarizing.<\/p>\n<p>The light emanating from a bulb, LED or the Sun is known as unpolarized, in the sense that it consists of waves <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">travel<\/a>ling outwards in a variety of orientations. By analogy, imagine a group of schoolchildren all waving skipping ropes. Some will wave their ropes up and down and some side to side, and some at angles in between.<\/p>\n<p>Polarizing filters bring order to emanating light waves by only allowing waves with a particular orientation to pass. As well as in LCDs, you find them in some sunglasses, for example. If we return to our rope analogy, imagine the ropes are fed through a slatted gate. The parallel slats of the gate only allow the waves travelling up and down to propagate, while the waves from all the children shaking their ropes in other directions are restricted \u2013 that\u2019s what polarization does with light.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"align-center \">\n<figure class=\"post-image post-mediaBleed aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px\" alt=\"How polarizing filters work. Image: Physics Stack Exchange, Author provided\" width=\"600\" height=\"307\" class=\"js-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/446836\/original\/file-20220216-19-1nbwjee.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/446836\/original\/file-20220216-19-1nbwjee.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=307&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/446836\/original\/file-20220216-19-1nbwjee.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=307&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/446836\/original\/file-20220216-19-1nbwjee.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=307&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/446836\/original\/file-20220216-19-1nbwjee.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=386&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/446836\/original\/file-20220216-19-1nbwjee.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=386&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/446836\/original\/file-20220216-19-1nbwjee.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=386&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w\"\/><figcaption><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"#\" data-url=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Feditorial.thenextweb.com%2Ftech%2F2022%2F02%2F26%2Fhow-a-fraudulent-mp-and-a-brilliant-scientist-created-lcds-for-flat-screens%2F&amp;via=thenextweb&amp;related=thenextweb&amp;text=Check out this picture on: How polarizing filters work. Image: Physics Stack Exchange, Author provided\" data-title=\"Share How polarizing filters work. Image: Physics Stack Exchange, Author provided on Twitter\" data-width=\"685\" data-height=\"500\" class=\"post-image-share popitup\" title=\"Share How polarizing filters work. Image: Physics Stack Exchange, Author provided on Twitter\"><i class=\"icon icon--inline icon--twitter--dark\"\/><\/a>How polarizing filters work. Image: Physics Stack Exchange, Author provided<\/figcaption><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/446836\/original\/file-20220216-19-1nbwjee.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip\" alt=\"How polarizing filters work. Image: Physics Stack Exchange, Author provided\" width=\"600\" height=\"307\" class=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/446836\/original\/file-20220216-19-1nbwjee.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=307&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/446836\/original\/file-20220216-19-1nbwjee.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=307&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/446836\/original\/file-20220216-19-1nbwjee.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=307&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/446836\/original\/file-20220216-19-1nbwjee.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=386&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/446836\/original\/file-20220216-19-1nbwjee.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=386&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/446836\/original\/file-20220216-19-1nbwjee.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=386&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w\"\/><\/noscript><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Now imagine you have two polarizing filters. You place one on top of the other and hold them up to the light. As expected, they cut out some of the light getting to your eye. Now, while keeping one in front of the other, you twist a filter by 90 degrees. It turns out that something odd h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ens \u2013 they now cut out all the light and together the filters appear opaque. In this orientation the first filter is cutting out the \u201cside-to-side\u201d polarized light, whilst the second filter cuts out \u201cup and down\u201d light.<\/p>\n<p>At the heart of LCDs are two polarizing filters in this orientation.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"align-center \">\n<figure class=\"post-image post-mediaBleed aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px\" alt=\"Polarizing filters when turned 90 degrees to one another are opaque.\" width=\"600\" height=\"237\" class=\"js-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/447486\/original\/file-20220221-18-unu502.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/447486\/original\/file-20220221-18-unu502.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=237&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/447486\/original\/file-20220221-18-unu502.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=237&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/447486\/original\/file-20220221-18-unu502.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=237&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/447486\/original\/file-20220221-18-unu502.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=298&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/447486\/original\/file-20220221-18-unu502.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=298&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/447486\/original\/file-20220221-18-unu502.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=298&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w\"\/><figcaption><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"#\" data-url=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Feditorial.thenextweb.com%2Ftech%2F2022%2F02%2F26%2Fhow-a-fraudulent-mp-and-a-brilliant-scientist-created-lcds-for-flat-screens%2F&amp;via=thenextweb&amp;related=thenextweb&amp;text=Check out this picture on: Polarizing filters when turned 90 degrees to one another are opaque.\" data-title=\"Share Polarizing filters when turned 90 degrees to one another are opaque. on Twitter\" data-width=\"685\" data-height=\"500\" class=\"post-image-share popitup\" title=\"Share Polarizing filters when turned 90 degrees to one another are opaque. on Twitter\"><i class=\"icon icon--inline icon--twitter--dark\"\/><\/a>Polarizing filters when turned 90 degrees to one another are opaque.<\/figcaption><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/447486\/original\/file-20220221-18-unu502.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip\" alt=\"Polarizing filters when turned 90 degrees to one another are opaque.\" width=\"600\" height=\"237\" class=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/447486\/original\/file-20220221-18-unu502.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=237&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/447486\/original\/file-20220221-18-unu502.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=237&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/447486\/original\/file-20220221-18-unu502.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=237&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/447486\/original\/file-20220221-18-unu502.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=298&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/447486\/original\/file-20220221-18-unu502.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=298&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/447486\/original\/file-20220221-18-unu502.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=298&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w\"\/><\/noscript><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"And_now_the_liquid_crystal\"><\/span>And now the liquid crystal<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The thin layer of liquid crystals between these polarizing filters does something rather clever. The molecules stack in the shape of a helix that twists the polarization of the light, letting it slip through the second filter.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s one more thing needed to turn this sandwich of polarizing filters and liquid crystals into a pixel within a display. You need some means to switch the liquid crystal\u2019s light-twisting properties on and off. That way you can control whether a pixel is bright or dark.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p>                <iframe loading=\"lazy\" srcdoc=\"&lt;style&gt;*{padding:0;margin:0;overflow:hidden}html,body{background:#000;height:100%}img{position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;object-fit:cover;transition:opacity .1s cubic-bezier(0.4,0,1,1)}a:hover img+img{opacity:1!important}&lt;\/style&gt;&lt;a href=\" https:=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/jIw0h02TMzA\/hqdefault.jpg\" style=\"top: 50%;left:50%;width:68px;height:48px;transform:translate3d(-50%,-50%,0)\" height=\"240\" width=\"320\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>        <!--resp-video-container--><br \/>\nAnd, this is where we return to Stonehouse \u2013 because back in 1967 he got the ball rolling to crack that problem. In his role at the Ministry of Technology, Stonehouse soon learnt that the UK was <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC3263809\/\">paying the Americans<\/a> more for the rights to use their color <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www2.physics.ox.ac.uk\/accelerate\/resources\/demonstrations\/cathode-ray-tube\">cathode ray tube<\/a> technology (in those big bulky televisions and monitors) in displays used by the military than it was spending on developing the supersonic airliner, Concorde.<\/p>\n<p>This convinced him that the UK needed to develop a color flat-screen panel. A government working group, led by the physicist Professor Cyril Hilsum, met with experts in their respective fields to decide which technologies should receive funding. When it came to the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=AaB902_ds-g&amp;t=2280s\">meeting on liquid crystals<\/a>, the expert was asked why the light was reflecting off his sample bottle of liquid crystals and casting such a curious pattern on the wall. He couldn\u2019t answer \u2013 but a young George Gray, a chemistry lecturer from the University of Hull, could. And that moment of brilliance won him the contract.<\/p>\n<p>Within a year, Gray\u2019s research team had developed a liquid crystal that was stable, easy to manufacture and, most importantly, included a positive charge at one end. The charge meant that an electric field could be applied to a pixel, pulling on the charged molecule to break up the structure of the liquid crystals and turn the pixel dark. Removing the power allowed the stack to reform and the pixel to flip back to white.<\/p>\n<p>The molecule is known as <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/4-Cyano-4%27-pentylbiphenyl\">4-Cyano-4\u2019-pentylbiphenyl<\/a>, or 5CB for short. And by 1974 the first devices containing this compound were on sale, such as calculators and digital watches. Even to this day, if you own a watch with a grey and black display you\u2019ve got some 5CB on your wrist.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"align-center \">\n<figure class=\"post-image post-mediaBleed aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px\" alt=\"5CB. Image: Author provided\" width=\"600\" height=\"364\" class=\"js-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/446838\/original\/file-20220216-24-o7t2p4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/446838\/original\/file-20220216-24-o7t2p4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=364&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/446838\/original\/file-20220216-24-o7t2p4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=364&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/446838\/original\/file-20220216-24-o7t2p4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=364&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/446838\/original\/file-20220216-24-o7t2p4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=458&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/446838\/original\/file-20220216-24-o7t2p4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=458&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/446838\/original\/file-20220216-24-o7t2p4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=458&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w\"\/><figcaption><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"#\" data-url=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Feditorial.thenextweb.com%2Ftech%2F2022%2F02%2F26%2Fhow-a-fraudulent-mp-and-a-brilliant-scientist-created-lcds-for-flat-screens%2F&amp;via=thenextweb&amp;related=thenextweb&amp;text=Check out this picture on: 5CB. Image: Author provided\" data-title=\"Share 5CB. Image: Author provided on Twitter\" data-width=\"685\" data-height=\"500\" class=\"post-image-share popitup\" title=\"Share 5CB. Image: Author provided on Twitter\"><i class=\"icon icon--inline icon--twitter--dark\"\/><\/a>5CB. Image: Author provided<\/figcaption><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/446838\/original\/file-20220216-24-o7t2p4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip\" alt=\"5CB. Image: Author provided\" width=\"600\" height=\"364\" class=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/446838\/original\/file-20220216-24-o7t2p4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=364&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/446838\/original\/file-20220216-24-o7t2p4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=364&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/446838\/original\/file-20220216-24-o7t2p4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=364&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/446838\/original\/file-20220216-24-o7t2p4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=458&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/446838\/original\/file-20220216-24-o7t2p4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=458&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/446838\/original\/file-20220216-24-o7t2p4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=458&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w\"\/><\/noscript><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Color screens came a bit later. They work on exactly the same principle, except each pixel is made from three tiny sub-pixels, with red, green and blue filters added to the layers, each of which can be controlled individually to generate the millions of hues we expect in our modern high-resolution screens.<\/p>\n<p>The first <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/global.sharp\/corporate\/info\/his\/h_company\/1988_1989\/index.html\">color flat-screen<\/a> TVs hit the market in 1988 when the Sharp Corporation launched its 14-inch LCD TV. Unfortunately Stonehouse missed seeing his vision come to fruition as he had died earlier that year.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;\" alt=\"The Conversation\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" class=\"js-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/176936\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic\"\/><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https:\/\/theconversation.com\/republishing-guidelines --><\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/176936\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic\" alt=\"The Conversation\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" class=\"\" srcset=\"\"\/><\/noscript><\/p>\n<p><em>This article by <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/mark-lorch-91662\">Mark Lorch<\/a>, Professor of Science Communication and Chemistry, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/university-of-hull-1191\">University of Hull<\/a>, is republished from <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\">The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/the-chemistry-behind-your-lcd-flat-screen-devices-how-a-scientist-changed-the-world-176936\">original article<\/a>.<\/em>\n                        <\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/how-a-fraudulent-mp-and-a-brilliant-scientist-created-lcds-for-flat-screens\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#How a fraudulent MP and a brilliant scientist created LCDs for flat-screens&#8221; In a laboratory at the University of Hull 50 years ago, a new chemical compound was created that would impact the world as much as any drug, fuel or material. The man responsible for this society-changing invention was George Gray \u2013 his new&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":410233,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image\/tnw?filter_last=1&fit=1280,640&url=https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/02\/LCD-hed.jpg&signature=fddc3b74322c279671909d67a458e1b4","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-410232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=410232"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410232\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/410233"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=410232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=410232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=410232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}