What Is Liquid Crystal Display (LCD)?

If you've ever wondered why Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) are so great, it's because of their liquid crystal properties. Liquid crystals are materials with just enough tension in their molecules to hold them in place but not enough to keep them from being manipulated by electric current. And when they're stimulated, they can open or close, allowing light to pass through and create images on your screen. That means your screen is made up of tiny crystals that an electric current can manipulate. That's pretty cool! The LCD is a big deal. If you haven't used one yet, you're missing out. It's lighter, thinner and uses less power than other display technologies. It's also more compact than other display technologies—it can fit into smaller devices easily. And it's cheaper than other display technologies. So if you're watching a new TV or laptop computer, consider getting an LCD screen instead of another type that might cost more money and use more energy to operate. Liquid crystals are like water but don't turn to ice when they get cold. Instead, they turn into a liquid state, and their molecules move around a lot. But like water, liquid crystals can form lines or groups of three or more molecules that reflect light in specific ways. When you look at a liquid crystal display, you're looking at lots of little groups of molecules arranged in columns and rows—a matrix of pixels. Each pixel contains three different colored crystals: red, green and blue. When polarized light turns the crystals off individually, you see black (no light). When all the crystals are turned on simultaneously by polarized light, you see white (all colors). And when some of them are turned on while others are turned off (you'll have to read our article on color theory to understand what that means), you see the colors in between!