MASKING OF CATHODE RAY TUBE DISPLAYS BY AMBIENT ILLUMINATION

Abstract

Masking thresholds of ambient illumination were obtained for a signal presented as a horizontal trace on a cathode ray tube. Seven trace luminances and two trace widths were used. Ambient illumination was measured in terms of the luminance superimposed on the surface of the tube. The results show that in radar operation ambient light can be present considerably in excess of the signal strength without masking the signal display, except when the signal luminance is below 0.1 ml. If the signal strength is increased by a small amount, the masking threshold for anibient light rises rapidly at first, but at a decreasing rate, and eventually reaches a point where further increases in trace luminance do not result in a further increase in inasking threshold. Above this level of ambient light (somewhat higher than 1000 ml in this experiment) no increase in signal strength can compensate for the masking effects of the ambient light. Increasing the dimensions of the trace, while holding trace luminance constant, appears to afford tolerance for somewhat more ambient light.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 01, 1953
Accession Number
AD0030677

Entities

People

  • Helmut Adler
  • John L. Brown
  • Margaret P. Kuhns

Organizations

  • Columbia University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Brightness
  • Cathode Ray Tube Screens
  • Cathode Ray Tubes
  • Illumination
  • Light Sources
  • Measurement
  • Medical Laboratories
  • Observers
  • Optical Phenomena
  • Optical Properties
  • Orientation (Direction)
  • Oscilloscopes
  • Psychology
  • Schematic Diagrams
  • Screens (Displays)
  • United States

Readers

  • Human-Computer Interaction (HCI).
  • Image Processing and Computer Vision.
  • Mathematics or Statistics