A Cambridge UK academic has come up with a completely new flat TV concept relying on total internal reflection in a wedge shaped piece of clear plastic. It is fed by the same LCD video projectors that drive rear-projection televisions. The technique promises to cost about a fiftieth of the price of current plasma screens and yet deliver a similar quality picture.
The system works by introducing light at the bottom edge of the wedge, which bounces across and back again up the length of the wedge until it reaches the critical angle at which it escapes and leaves the face of the screen as light. A precise mathematical formula ensures that light for the correct pixel exits the screen at just the right distance up the wedge. While still basically a super-compact LCD rear projection system, it allows superthin TVs to be made by folding the wedge in on itself to allow the light to be bounced within a smaller confined area.
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Cambridge Professor Debuts New WEDGE LCD
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