cathode-ray tube
- noun
- /ˈkæθoʊd-reɪ tuːb/
- Archaic
- The image on the screen flickered because the cathode-ray tube was malfunctioning.
- cathode-ray tube monitor
They're saying ask your grandparents, they'll tell you about the cathode ray tube TV's, which they all had.
- They're saying ask your grandparents, they'll tell you about the cathode ray tube TV's, which they all had.
- I mean, after all, that's what the cathode ray tube was, right?
Examples
-
Who invented the cathode ray tube?
Blog text (6) -
The images can be displayed and recorded on a cathode ray tube similar to one in a television.
Academic text (2000) -
His eyes were glued to the cathode-ray tube screen.
Fiction book (1991) -
Rontgen was interested in experiments with cathode ray tubes and the quality of the produced rays.
Academic text (1995) -
This time he did produce much lower pressures in his cathode-ray tubes, requiring much higher operating voltages.
Academic text (1995) -
Each image is processed independently and routed to a dedicated cathode-ray tube monitor in the surgeon's console.
Academic text (2005) -
The most familiar use of these electron beams is in cathode-ray tubes—as used in television sets and computer displays, for example.
Academic text (1997) -
The primaries typically are arranged in a spatially nonoverlapping configuration, such as the red, green, and blue phosphor-dot triad found in a cathode-ray-tube monitor.
Academic text (1992) -
Many classic video games were designed to be played on a cathode-ray tube television.
-
In early televisions, the cathode-ray tube was essential for displaying moving images.
Synonyms
An old heavy TV or computer screen that uses a glass tube to show images
A long glass tube inside old televisions that makes the picture on the screen
A glass tube with a screen that shows early TV pictures
A glass tube inside old TVs that makes the picture on the screen
A large glass part inside old televisions that shows pictures in color
A glass bulb inside older televisions that makes the screen show color pictures
Surface Forms
Morphology
cathode-ray + tube
The phrase is compositionally transparent: it literally describes a tube that contains/produces a cathode ray (a beam emitted from a cathode). Although the term is technical and may be unfamiliar at B1, if a learner knows the constituents ('cathode', 'ray', 'tube') the overall meaning is directly derivable and not idiomatic.
Etymology
The name cathode-ray tube comes from a simple picture: inside a long tube a hot metal part called the cathode sends out tiny particles that travel like a ray to hit a glowing screen. That's why the old 'TVs and computer monitors' that made pictures this way are called cathode-ray tubes.