Liquid Crystal TV: Past History and Future Promise by Cyril Hilsum

The Cathode Ray Tube was immensely successful for television, but by the 1960s its incompatibility with the rapidly developing silicon chips was apparent. There was a demand for larger screens, and the large tubes were too heavy for consumer use. Attempts to find flat-panel alternatives, particularly in the USA, all proved futile. The solution, Liquid Crystal TV, came in the 1970s, with first an invention in Switzerland, and then a series of inventions in the UK at RSRE and the University of Hull (liquid crystals) and then University of Dundee (amorphous silicon switches for addressing). This presentation, accompanied by demonstrations, will give the history, show how the present status has been accomplished, and will be a tribute to some remarkable British science and engineering.

Speaker: Dr. Cyril Hilsum, (CBE, FRS, FREng, corporate research advisor, formerly at RSRE Malvern and SERL, was also GEC Director of Research). He has been President of the Institute of Physics and a Foreign Associate of the US National Academy of Engineering.

Timetable
12:00 to 13:30 – optional lunch.
14:00 to 14:45/15:00 – lecture
14:45/15:00 to 15:30 approx. – questions and discussion

The lecture is free to attend for members and non-members of IET

The meal in Savoy Place will be available for a group price of £16.95 per person including wine. Those wishing to attend are asked to send an e-mail on or before the preceding Friday, giving name(s), and requesting attendance at either the lunch and lecture or just the lecture to both of the following addresses: Tony Davies and John Fuller

Insert the event date in the e-mail subject line [e.g. 27th October 2017 Friday Lunch and Lecture]. No acknowledgement will be sent unless specifically requested. Those attending the lunch should pay for it in advance at the Faraday Kitchen: the receipt acts as entry-ticket to the meal location.

The lecture qualifies for 1½ CPD hours

Visitors are recommended to arrive early enough to allow time for the security check-in procedures; lunch must be paid for in the Faraday Kitchen (level 2) before the meal. The lecture is expected to be in the Mountbatten Room (level 2), the lunch might be in the Riverside Room (level 3).