Flat-screen televisions

Tonic is a three-story industrial space with steel catwalks, a stone bar lighted blue beneath it, flat-screen televisions and blue tufted clamshell banquettes against one wall for diners—a lounge made from parts, several nightlife trends of the last several years, soldered together. 

The two mineral sources for strontium are the sulfate (celes-tite) and carbonate (strontianite). The main use of strontium is as a component in colour television faceplate glass ( 8% SrO is incorporated into the glass) where its function is to stop X-ray emissions from the cathode ray tube (CRT). However, the increasing market for CRT-free flat-screen televisions is having a dramatic effect on the demand for strontium. Other uses of strontium include ferrite ceramic magnets and pyrotechnics (see Flame tests in Section 12.3). 

LCDs are also used in other digital instruments and in flat-screen televisions. Early LCDs suffered from poor contrast between light and dark combined with narrow viewing angles. Several different forms of construction now offer improved viewing characteristics. 

Matsnshita, best known in retail outlets for its Panasonic brand, is planning to invest, with its Toray chemicals group partner, 1.57 billion in the construction of what is set to be the world s largest PDP plant as a means of establishing market leadership of the flat-screen television market. The plant, with a planned annual production capacity of six million panels, is scheduled to open in 2007. Matsushita will then have an annual production capacity of eleven million panels placing it in the position of world number one ahead of Korea s SDI company. 

Liquid crystal displays (LCDs) are used in watches, calculators, mobile phones, computer monitors, and flat-screen televisions. Since 1995, plasma display panels (PDFs) had been big business for television manufacturers. Now LCDs are rapidly rising to be a major competitor. Both employ liquid crystals as an important ingredient PDFs use them as auxiliary components, whereas in LCDs it is the main component. 

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