It is a common phenomenon that the picture of a TV gets distorted if a magnet is placed in the vicinity. This is because a standard Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) television sends shooting electrons to a screen, from an emitter. As a result of this moving charge a magnetic field is created. Again a television works by using magnetism to direct the electrons to the right spot. Now if external magnets are applied this entire process is distorted and the picture looks blurred.

When a signal is received by the television, it is first split into an audio signal and a picture signal from a carrier wave. The picture signal comprises of 3 elements- red, green and blue. In a standard television the 3 ‘electron guns’ is found at the back of the set. There is a separate gun for each color.

When a red color signal is received the gun produces a beam of electrons that varies in intensity. Next, this beam is fired towards the TV screen. The electron beam immediately starts at the top-left of the screen and the magnetic fields sweep this beam across the screen. This sweeping of the beams occur in horizontal parallel lines. You might know that phosphor pixels cover the back of the TV screen that glows when struck by these electrons. A magnet placed nearby distorts the picture by distorting the path of electrons


[tags]magnet with television,distort television,magnetic field[/tags]