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making a CRT factory today would be extremely challenging. Only the retro video game market wants these things, and the lead requirements for the glass are con
by naikrovek 3y ago
making a CRT factory today would be extremely challenging. Only the retro video game market wants these things, and the lead requirements for the glass are considerable.
not worth the hassle. probably not even possible within a 1st world nation because of the environmental impact.
- wkat4242 3y agoLead is still allowed in applications where there's no suitable replacement. For example lead-acid batteries are still being sold for UPS and alarm systems. I don't think leaded glass in CRTs would be problem because it exists to protect the user from radiation.
- fragmede 3y agoIs that lead as in time to wait before you get it, or lead, as in the metal?
- naikrovek 3y agolead the metal. CRTs are made of leaded glass to reduce x-ray emissions.
- chongli 3y agoLead is only used for the funnel of the CRT, not the front. The front is barium-strontium glass. Lead glass has a tendency to turn yellow/brown with use, giving an ugly picture if used for the front. You actually don’t even need to make the funnel out of glass at all, since it doesn’t need to be transparent. Tektronix famously made a lot of CRTs out of ceramics [1], with barium-strontium glass used only for the front. This also let them produce a CRT with a completely flat and rectangular front. [1] https://vintagetek.org/ceramic-strips/ https://vintagetek.org/ceramic-strips/
- naikrovek 3y agoYes that's true, but good luck making large CRTs using that method. Those ceramic-walled tubes were fine when the screen is 5" diagonal, but for a 29" arcade monitor, that won't do. CRTs will never again be made in the quantities required to make it feasible economically.