If a display creates an image by passing light through a medium, which display technology is being used?

The display technology that creates an image by passing light through a medium is known as transmissive. In this type of display, light is transmitted through layers, typically including liquid crystals or other imaging materials, which modulate the light to produce an image. This method relies on a backlight source that shines light through the medium, where it is selectively blocked or allowed through to form the desired picture.

Transmissive displays are commonly found in technologies such as LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), where the liquid crystals adjust their alignment based on electric current, influencing how much light can pass through them. This is different from emissive technologies, which generate their own light rather than modulating external light, and reflective technologies, which depend on reflecting light rather than passing it through. Projective displays, on the other hand, use a different mechanism entirely, projecting images from a source onto a surface.

Overall, the key characteristic of transmissive displays is their use of an external light source to create images by controlling how light travels through them, which distinctly defines this category of display technology.