Plasma displays use a much different technology than
LCD. Plasma is based on gas rather than liquid. A plasma display works by sandwiching a layer of ionized gas between two thin layers of glass. The gas is contained in hundreds of thousands of tiny cells, each of which is divided into three sub-pixels of red, blue, and green.
When an electrical voltage is applied to the gas in a cell, the gas is ionized -- which releases ultraviolet photons. These photons interact with a phosphor material coated on the inside wall of each cell. The excited phosphors give off colored light, thus illuminating a single sub-pixel of that specific color. And, as the light goes on and off in different cells, an entire picture is created.
Michael Miller is a writer and commentator on technology and digital lifestyle topics. 
