Media alt text:
3D render of old tv set with animated static on its screen, as if tuned to a dead channel.

  • Mr_Dr_Oink@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    3
    ·
    8 months ago

    Its just static electricity. Not dangerous at all and not exclusive to the scramble screen.

    Copied from an old reddit post:

    Old cathode ray tube (CRT) televisions have an electron gun which fires electrons at the back of the screen. And the screen is coated with phosphorus phosphors which emit light whenever struck by an electron. The side-effect of this process is that each electron increases the static charge of the screen, and over time as the image on the TV changes it increases the charge. Meanwhile, rubbing your hand, which has a slight negative charge, across the screen will remove some of this built-up static.