Skip to main content
iconoscope

iconoscope

9.9
An early device in television cameras that changes pictures into electric signals
  • noun
  • /ˌaɪkəˈnoʊskoʊp/
  • Archaic
translation icon : iconoscopio

Examples

  • That's because no one could build an iconoscope that worked!

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Sarnoff: He asked for a patent in 1923 for his image breaker, the iconoscope.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Vladimir Zworykin introduced the iconoscope at a convention, marking a significant advancement in television technology.

  • The iconoscope converted images into electrical signals, making it essential for early television broadcasts.

  • In the 1930s, the invention of the iconoscope revolutionized how images were captured and transmitted on television.

Synonyms

television pickup tube
vsiconoscope
  • Archaic
9.9

An electronic tube in early television cameras that turns light into electrical signals

is the earlier specific design used in the first practical camera systems
television-camera tube
vsiconoscope
  • Archaic
9.6

A device used in old television cameras to change an image into electronic signals

is a distinct early model used in the first practical television setups
vidicon
vsiconoscope
  • Archaic
9.9

An old glass tube in television cameras that changes pictures into electric signals

is earlier and used in the first practical cameras rather than later vacuum designs

How Modern

photodetector
  • Specialized
1 7.2
vidicon
  • Archaic
9.9
orthicon
  • Archaic
9.9
iconoscope
  • Archaic
9.9

Surface Forms

iconoscope singular
iconoscopes plural

Morphology

iconoscope = icon (semi-transparent) = icon + scope

The word is built from icon and -scope, but the specialized technical sense as an early television camera tube is not fully predictable from the parts alone.

Etymology

Iconoscope comes from the Greek root icon ('image') and the ending -scope ('to look'), the same ending you see in telescope. So an iconoscope is a device for 'looking at images', which fits its role as an early television camera tube that turned pictures into electrical signals.