[CLUE-Tech] Hardware question: monitor

[Matt Gushee]

On Tue, Aug 13, 2002 at 05:10:48PM -0600, Jed S. Baer wrote:
> On 13 Aug 2002 15:06:32 -0600
> Jeremiah Stanley <lists at miah.org> wrote:
> 
> > If anybody else has read 'Cryptonomicon' by Neal Stephenson you'll
> > recall a part of the book where they describe a character who's vision
> > was terrible and he would switch resolutions on his monitor multiple
> > times per day. One day, it just exploded in his face. This isn't meant
> > to scare you, but can a vacuum tube really do that?
> 
> Well, given that it's a vacuum, air pressure would tend, initially, to
> suck the fragments inwards (implosion). However, the rebounds might not be
> something I'd want my head in the way of. The rapid and sudden air
> movement probably causes unpredictable currents, carrying shards, and bits
> of phosphor, in various directions.
> 
> I can't imagine switching between supported resolutions (i.e. refresh
> rates, actually) could cause any physical damage. Whether "overclocking"
> your monitor could actually cause the tube to fracture, I don't know. I
> wouldn't guess for such a spectacular failure mode.

Hmm ... I've heard vague stories from the early days of X of very bad
things happening to people's monitors and, in some cases, their eyes, as
a result of incautious video settings. But that was probably back in the
80s, and as I understand it modern hardware is much more tolerant.

-- 
Matt Gushee
Englewood, Colorado, USA
mgushee at havenrock.com
http://www.havenrock.com/