# Does a TV act as an ionizer?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-tv-act-as-an-ionizer/377739>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 24, 2006, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-tv-act-as-an-ionizer/377739 "2006-10-24T18:51:48Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![The\_Controvert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)\
**Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-tv-act-as-an-ionizer/377739/1 "2006-10-24T18:51:48Z")

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I have an air purifier / ionizer. It has little metal needles that apparently give off electrons when the ionizer is turned on. Is this effect the same as the electron gun from a cathode ray tube?

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**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\
**Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-tv-act-as-an-ionizer/377739/2 "2006-10-24T19:56:43Z")

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[QUOTE=The Controvert]  
I have an air purifier / ionizer. It has little metal needles that apparently give off electrons when the ionizer is turned on. Is this effect the same as the electron gun from a cathode ray tube?  
[/QUOTE]  
Your ionizer gives off ions because of the high voltage. Usually wires rather than needles.

The cathode ray gun emits a stream of electrons from the hot thorium impregnated filament which travel to the screen to activate the phosphors.

The high voltage in a TV set can ionize a bit of air in the vicinity of the transmformer if it is not well protected. Not a basic function.

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**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\
**Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-tv-act-as-an-ionizer/377739/3 "2006-10-24T21:30:57Z")

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[QUOTE=spingears]  
The high voltage in a TV set can ionize a bit of air in the vicinity of the transmformer if it is not well protected. Not a basic function.  
[/QUOTE]

Actually, corona discharge like that would be considered a malfunction to be repaired by the liberal application of insulating goop called “corona dope.” With the big CRT-based TVs, it wasn’t an uncommon problem - usually the most obvious symptom would be that the TV was hissing or you could smell the ozone.

So, no, a properly functioning TV isn’t very useful as an air “ionizer.”