A
pixel on an
LCD monitor that remains unlit, or black, when it should be activated and displaying a color. Each pixel on an LCD screen is made from three separate subpixels—one red, one green and one blue—that when combined form the colors that the users see on the monitor. A dead pixel occurs when the transistor that activates the amount of light that shows through all three subpixels malfunctions and results in a permanently black pixel. Dead pixels are rare and largely go unnoticed by the user.
See "All
About Monitors: CRT Vs. LCD" in the
Did You Know...?
section of Webopedia.
See also "LCD
Versus Plasma: An introduction to flat screen television technologies" in
Webopedia's Quick Reference
section.