Orthicon

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of television camera tube that converts light into electrical signals, primarily used in early television technology
2. This imaging device employs a photoconductive surface to create images by detecting light and outputting corresponding electrical signals
3. An early form of image sensor technology designed to capture visual information by transforming illumination into electrical impulses for television broadcasting

Etymology: "Orthicon" is a clipped form of "orthoconoscope," a name built from Greek roots. "Ortho-" comes from Greek "orthos," meaning straight or correct, and "-scope" from "skopein," to look at or examine. The middle element "-cono-" points to the cone-shaped form of the tube's target, the part that receives the image. The longer name was shortened to the more manageable "orthicon," the name by which the tube became known in the trade. The device is a television camera tube, meaning it converts light from a scene into an electrical signal that can be broadcast or recorded. Its name reflects its design rather than any idea of looking "straight" in a broad sense, and the compound was a technical coinage of the television era rather than an old word with a long history. The abbreviation is the form most people encountered in engineering and broadcasting contexts.

Synonyms: camera tube, image tube, video tube