How does LCD work - simply explained

Whether in a calculator, car or printer - LCDs can be found almost everywhere. You can find out how an LCD works in this practical tip.

How does LCD work? - easily explained

LCD means "Liquid Crystal Display", which means "liquid crystal display" in German. The term "LCD display" or "LCD screen" is therefore meaningless.

• The liquid crystals mostly consist of rod-shaped molecules that are arranged in parallel like matches in a matchbox, but are also liquid at the same time. The orientation of these molecules can be changed by electrical voltage.
• In an LCD, an element of the display consists of a liquid crystal layer between two transparent electrodes and two polarization filters. The filters only let through the light waves with a certain "orientation".
• For example, when the light passes through the first filter, it is vertically polarized. However, it cannot pass through the second filter, since in this case it would be a horizontal filter.
• The electrodes are arranged such that they arrange the liquid crystal molecules in the same direction in which the polarization filters are also aligned. The molecules "twist" from the first to the second electrode by 90 °. Thus the direction of polarization of the light is also rotated by 90 °.
• However, the alignment of the molecules on the electrodes can be disturbed by voltage. This means that individual parts of the LCD can be darkened.
• The faster individual pixels can switch from white to black or vice versa, the lower the response time, which is an important quality feature in gaming monitors, for example.
• The more pixels there are, the clearer the display becomes. Accordingly, the resolution is higher.

In the next article we explain the theory of relativity to you.