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I unfortunately dropped a pointy object and it pierced a tiny area of my monitor (AOC U32E2N). I was surprised to see that the whole area of the impact (where physical damage can be seen) is essentially extending to the top and bottom of the monitor with black or pure C, M, Y or K (or white) colored lines - i.e there are vertical lines of the same color from top to bottom in the damaged area, but almost no horizontal lines.

I know that I have seen similar damage pictures for TVs and other monitors as well. This made me wonder, why would a damage to a pixel cause the entire column to be broken? Are they linked together?

See an image here of the damage: enter image description here

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Posting a picture along with the make and model of the monitor, they do not all have the same display technology. \$\endgroup\$
    – Gil
    Commented Nov 2, 2021 at 20:37
  • \$\begingroup\$ Makes sense, I thought since I saw it on many "failed" pictures and videos from different models that maybe there is something common about it \$\endgroup\$
    – Yanick Salzmann
    Commented Nov 2, 2021 at 20:41
  • \$\begingroup\$ what type of monitor? ... LCD monitors have a matrix of conductors similar to the fabric in your pants ... think about what happens if you snag your pants on something \$\endgroup\$
    – jsotola
    Commented Nov 2, 2021 at 20:42
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    \$\begingroup\$ Most LCD displays use an X-Y (matrix) drive approach to control an individual pixel. If the vertical driver is damaged, all the pixels in that column will be affected. \$\endgroup\$
    – SteveSh
    Commented Nov 2, 2021 at 20:45
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    \$\begingroup\$ FYI, I have a 12-year old flat screen TV that has lost a single column of pixels. Can't notice it from a normal viewing distance. \$\endgroup\$
    – SteveSh
    Commented Nov 2, 2021 at 20:58

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SteveSh has the right answer, the sharp object probably caused a short (or open) in a driver circuit (or trace) that affected all columns it was responsible for and could no longer be driven. The inside of the screen contains many circuit traces that connect the pixel elements together, and they are very dense and easy to damage. The key to understanding this effect is that one driver is responsible for many pixels, not just one.

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