television pickup tube
- noun
- /ˈtɛlɪˌvɪʒən ˈpɪkʌp tuːb/
- Archaic
- A television pickup tube converts light from a scene into an electronic signal for broadcast.
Examples
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The early studio cameras used a television pickup tube to capture black-and-white images.
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The first television pickup tube was invented in the 1920s.
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Inventors improved the television pickup tube to enhance image quality in early television systems.
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Many television pickup tubes were used in early broadcasts.
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A television pickup tube converts light from a scene into an electronic signal for broadcast.
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Inventors improved the television pickup tube to enhance image quality in early television systems.
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The early studio cameras used a television pickup tube to capture black-and-white images.
Synonyms
1
9.9
An early device in television cameras that changes pictures into electric signals
1
9.9
An old glass tube in television cameras that changes pictures into electric signals
A device used in old television cameras to change an image into electronic signals
How Modern
- Archaic
- Archaic
1
9.9
Surface Forms
Morphology
television + pickup + tube
The phrase is largely compositional: 'television' (TV) + 'pickup' (to pick up or receive) + 'tube' (an electronic tube) together denote a tube that picks up or receives television images/signals. A B1 learner who knows those constituent meanings can reasonably infer the technical function, so the construction is transparent.
Etymology
Television pickup tube comes from early TV cameras where a glass tube would 'pick up' light from a scene, which is why the word pickup is used, and then change that light into an electronic signal. That's why the name means a device that receives an image and makes an electronic signal.