Noise, commonly known as static, white noise, static noise, or snow, in analog

video Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syst ...

and

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

, is a random dot pixel pattern of

static Static may refer to: Places *Static Nunatak, a nunatak in Antarctica United States * Static, Kentucky and Tennessee *Static Peak, a mountain in Wyoming **Static Peak Divide, a mountain pass near the peak Science and technology Physics *Static el ...

displayed when no transmission signal is obtained by the antenna receiver of

television sets A television set or television receiver, more commonly called the television, TV, TV set, telly, tele, or tube, is a device that combines a tuner, display, and loudspeakers, for the purpose of viewing and hearing television broadcasts, or using ...

and other display devices.

Description

The random pixel pattern is superimposed on the picture or the television screen, being visible as a random flicker of "dots", "snow" or "fuzzy zig-zags" in some television sets, is the result of electronic noise and radiated electromagnetic noise accidentally picked up by the antenna like air or cable. This effect is most commonly seen with analog TV sets, blank VHS tapes, or other display devices. There are many sources of electromagnetic noise which cause the characteristic display patterns of static. Atmospheric sources of noise are the most ubiquitous, and include electromagnetic signals prompted by

cosmic microwave background radiation In Big Bang cosmology the cosmic microwave background (CMB, CMBR) is electromagnetic radiation that is a remnant from an early stage of the universe, also known as "relic radiation". The CMB is faint cosmic background radiation filling all space ...

, or more localized radio wave noise from nearby electronic devices. The display device itself is also a source of noise, due in part to

thermal noise A thermal column (or thermal) is a rising mass of buoyant air, a convective current in the atmosphere, that transfers heat energy vertically. Thermals are created by the uneven heating of Earth's surface from solar radiation, and are an example ...

produced by the inner electronics. Most of this noise comes from the first

transistor upright=1.4, gate (G), body (B), source (S) and drain (D) terminals. The gate is separated from the body by an insulating layer (pink). A transistor is a semiconductor device used to Electronic amplifier, amplify or electronic switch, switch ...

the antenna is attached to.

Names

UK viewers used to see "snow" on black after sign-off, instead of "bugs" on white, a purely technical artifact due to old

405-line The 405-line monochrome analogue television broadcasting system was the first fully electronic television system to be used in regular broadcasting. The number of television lines influences the image resolution, or quality of the picture. It wa ...

British senders using positive rather than the negative video modulation used in Canada, the U.S., and (currently) the UK as well. Since one impression of the "snow" is of fast-flickering black bugs on a white background, the phenomenon is often called ''myrornas krig'' in

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

, ''myrekrig'' in Danish, ''hangyák háborúja'' in Hungarian, ''Ameisenkrieg'' in German, and ''semut bertengkar'' in Indonesian, which all translate to "war of the ants". It is also known as ''ekran karıncalanması'' in Turkish, meaning "ants on the screen", ''hangyafoci'' in Hungarian which means "ant football", and in Romanian, ''purici'', which translates into "fleas". In French however, this phenomenon is mostly called ''neige'' (snow), just like in

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

, where it is called ''sneeuw''. In

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, it's called ''formigueiro'', meaning either "anthill" or "formication". In

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

this video noise is called ''lluvia'' (rain), maybe related to the sound that go along with it. Similarly, this noise is called ''suna-arashi'' (sand storm) in

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

, referring to the natural phenomenon.

Big Bang

Because analog television uses radio waves to carry information, some of the white noise is the television rendering microwaves from the Big Bang. NASA describes, "Turn your television to an 'in between' channel, and part of the static you will see is the afterglow of the big bang". This is also true for radio. When it is adjusted to a

frequency Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time. It is also occasionally referred to as ''temporal frequency'' for clarity, and is distinct from ''angular frequency''. Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz) which is eq ...

that is between stations, part of the sound heard is remnant radiation from the Big Bang from around 13.7 billion years ago.The Switch to Digital Switches off Big Bang TV Signal
by Nicholos Wethington from Universe Today. February 16, 2009

References

{{Noise

Video Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syst ...

Television terminology Articles containing video clips

Description

Names

Big Bang

See also

References