What causes dead pixels?

[tangcla]

So... what causes them?

Had the laptop for over a year (doh! warranty over!) and just noticed a dead pixel which I know wasn;t there a week ago... why?

[blank]

Just quoting google


"So What Causes a Dead Pixel?

Occasionally the individual transistors responsible for carrying
current to a pixel will either short out or remain open resulting in
what is called a dead pixel. A "lit" pixel is one that appears as one
of several randomly placed white, red, blue or green pixel elements on
a dark background, or you may have a "missing" pixel which shows up as
a black dot on a light colored background.

So Why do New Screens Have Dead Pixels?

During the production process of LCD screens it is difficult for
manufacturers to assess if a pixel is out or not. In fact, only once
an LCD panel has completed production and assembly can it be
determined that an LCD does or does not have dead pixels. Material
costs are high for LCD displays so every attempt is made to avoid
scrapping displays. If a screen is determined as being overly flawed,
it will be thrown out, but if the screen is within a set quality
standard -- say 2 dead pixels -- then the screen will not be thrown
out. If manufacturers had to throw out every screen with even 1 dead
pixel, prices would be much higher for LCD screens."

[tangcla]

but what would cause a perfectly working LCD to suddenly die?

edit: sorry, I didn't specify my question too clearly

[Annihilator69]

Try massaging the screen where the dead pixel is.

Works on the school LCD's

[redslert]

Originally Posted by tangcla

but what would cause a perfectly working LCD to suddenly die?

edit: sorry, I didn't specify my question too clearly

over time when electronic equipment heats up and cools down repeatedly things will get worn out
it's the same as bending a piece of wire many times in the same spot, soon enough it will get so weak that it just snaps

which is why many people believe that you are better off leaving electronic equipment on all the time if you regularly use it, only turn it off when not going to be used for long periods. Such as for high end, expensive audio amplifiers