Danger of CRT monitors??

[ll_billym]

I was told rather plausibly that CRT monitors are bad for you as the electrons fired at the screen by the guns go through the glass and hit your face.

Is this true?

[jake-the-peg]

No this is not true.

Prolonged use of computer equipment is bad for you repetive strain from keyboards and eyestrain etc. and monitors do give off a certain amount of electromagnetic energy - maybe this is what they were thinking of.

[mfewell]

Talking of plausibility, we had a new guy at work convinced for a few minutes that the earliest hard disks were made of highly polished wood.

[badams]

It's not electrons which are the problem - it is the by-product of producing them - X-rays.

[Gef]

Sorry buddah but the link doesn't work.

[badams]

It does if you delete the </P> at the end of the URL.

The Q-Link � is a stylish pendant that helps your biofield function at its optimum level, which strengthens your resilience and resistance to the effects of stress.

Yeah - and prices start at $129 - I'll keep my money in my pocket and sit back a bit from the monitor!

[Gef]

Thanks badams. Looks like a complete rip-off to me.

And in response to the question the electrons do not hit your face nor do monitors or TVs produce X-rays.

[badams]

Gef - CRT's do give off X-Rays - this is not a techie myth, it is a fact.  The dose is less than 1 mrem per hour, so it is not regarded as unsafe, however the X-ray levels are measurable.  The effect is controlled by limiting the anode voltage, and by using lead-glass at the front face of the tube.  Since the shadow mask (or aperture grill in some designs), is metal, and a conductor, it also gives some degree of screening.

You are actually safer in front of the monitor or TV than you are behind it!  CRT's do present many hazards, but prolonged X-Ray exposure is not one of them.

[Bonzo 2000]

There is absolutely no way that any electrons could penetrate the screen, as all their energy is disapated when they strike the coating on the inner surface.  YEAOUCH!!!  That one got me right in the eye

[badams]

Bonzo 2000 - I didn't say electrons would penetrate the screen - I said X-rays do, and it's true.

Electrons hitting you would not do any harm anyhow.