screen

screen
Name	Screen
Type	Display and barrier device
Invented	Ancient and modern developments

screen

A screen is a surface or device used to display images, separate spaces, filter materials, or protect occupants. Historically evolving from simple woven partitions and painted panels to modern electronic displays, screens intersect with inventions, institutions, and cultural practices across societies. Their roles span visual arts, information technology, architecture, and entertainment, influencing figures, firms, and movements worldwide.

Etymology and terminology

The word derives from Old English and Germanic roots related to protection and covering, paralleled in the lexicons of King Alfred the Great's court and manuscripts from Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Terminology around planar partitions and electronic displays developed alongside crafts and industries represented by Guildhall, London and innovations linked to workshops in Florence and Venice. Technical vocabularies expanded during the Industrial Revolution in contexts such as Great Exhibition and institutions like the Royal Society. Later semantic shifts paralleled advances at companies such as Bell Labs, RCA Corporation, and Eastman Kodak Company, and in standards set by bodies like IEEE.

Types and technologies

Screens manifest as architectural partitions and as electronic displays. Architectural variants include folding screens associated with the courts of Heian period Japan and lacquerwork exported through trade networks involving Marco Polo's routes and the Dutch East India Company. In optics and imaging, cathode-ray tube developments at Bell Labs and pixel technologies from Massachusetts Institute of Technology spawned raster displays; subsequent liquid-crystal work at Sony Corporation and Sharp Corporation produced flat-panel LCDs, while emissive technologies emerged from research at University of Cambridge and firms like Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics with OLED. Projection systems trace lineages through the Edison Laboratories, the Zoetrope legacy, cinematic systems standardized at Dolby Laboratories and formats used by Paramount Pictures, and laser-based displays influenced by research at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Protective and filtering screens employ metallurgy and polymer science from institutions such as Imperial College London and companies like DuPont, incorporating materials developed for Apollo program habitats and for NATO-grade ballistic protection.

Design and construction

Design practices draw on traditions from artisan workshops in Kyoto and industrial design schools such as Royal College of Art and Rhode Island School of Design. Construction of physical partitions uses joinery techniques seen in Guild of Saint Luke records and finishing practices from Fabergé ateliers, while modern display engineering requires supply chains including firms like Intel Corporation and TSMC for semiconductors and manufacturers such as Foxconn and Panasonic Corporation for assembly. Standards for interoperability and safety reference committees at International Electrotechnical Commission and testing regimes developed by Underwriters Laboratories. Environmental considerations involve lifecycle assessments pioneered by researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stockholm Environment Institute, and recycling initiatives coordinated with agencies like United Nations Environment Programme.

Functions and applications

Screens serve visual communication, privacy, filtration, and protection. In media and performance, they enable exhibitions by institutions like the Museum of Modern Art, broadcasting by networks such as BBC and NBC, and cinematic presentation by studios including Warner Bros. Pictures. In computing and user interfaces, screen technologies are integral to products from Apple Inc. and Microsoft and used in research at Stanford University and Carnegie Mellon University. Architectural screens influence designs by Frank Lloyd Wright, Tadao Ando, and Zaha Hadid, and are used in interiors of sites like Buckingham Palace and corporate campuses of Google. Protective screens and filters are applied in aerospace by NASA, in military vessels of United States Navy, and in medical devices developed at Mayo Clinic and Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Cultural and social impact

Screens have reshaped leisure and civic life through institutions and movements including the rise of cinema chains like Cineworld Group and festivals such as Cannes Film Festival and Sundance Film Festival. Television screens altered politics via events like the Watergate scandal coverage and broadcasts of Apollo 11; gaming screens fostered industries around companies like Nintendo and Sony Interactive Entertainment and communities convened at conventions such as E3. Artistic practices adapted through exhibitions at Tate Modern and filmic experiments by auteurs associated with Cahiers du Cinéma. Debates around screens intersect with policy arenas in legislatures such as the United States Congress and commissions formed after incidents like the Cambridge Analytica revelations, affecting consumer markets regulated by authorities like the Federal Trade Commission.

Health and safety considerations

Concerns include ergonomic design, visual strain, sleep disruption, and exposure to emissions addressed by occupational bodies such as World Health Organization and standards from Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Public health research at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and University of Oxford has studied behavioral effects linked to prolonged use, while biomedical engineering teams at Mayo Clinic have developed guidelines for assistive display technologies. Safety certification and hazard mitigation reference testing labs including Underwriters Laboratories and regulatory frameworks in jurisdictions overseen by institutions like the European Commission.

Category:Display devices