{found in the margins}
CRT and the Sea
This is a members-only episode of Found in the Margins, short bonus stories released on Patreon between full episodes.
{show notes}
What happens when an old CRT monitor ends up in the ocean?
In this episode:
- Why a piece of two-tone gray sea glass warrants a second look
- The components of a CRT screen and how they block x-rays
- Why engineers could not simply melt together the two types of glass that were used to construct CRT displays, and the glass solder they used instead
- How eroding coastal landfills keep handing these fragments back to us, one tumbled piece at a time
Episode Music:
Additional Reading:
Komori, H., & Yamazaki, H. (2004). Method of producing CRT funnel glass suitable for glass recycling, and CRT funnel glass (U.S. Patent No. 6,820,443). U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. https://patents.google.com/patent/US6820443
Scott, K. (2021, October 11). A sea of colors. Beachcombing Magazine. https://www.beachcombingmagazine.com/blogs/news/a-sea-of-colors-1
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (n.d.). Summary of the electronic product radiation control provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic (FD&C) Act. Retrieved September 7, 2026, from https://www.fda.gov/radiation-emitting-products/laws-and-regulations-radiation-emitting-products/summary-electronic-product-radiation-control-provisions-federal-food-drug-and-cosmetic-fdc-act