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Effects
Placing a magnet near a computer screen will cause color distortions that look like rainbows. Moving the magnet causes the distortion to change color and shape.
Function
The inside of the computer screen is coated with tiny lumps of phosphor that glow when electrical current hits them. Three colors of phosphor---green, red and blue---combine to make up all the colors displayed on a normally functioning computer screen. Putting a magnet near the screen diverts the electrons and causes the wrong lumps to light up, creating the distortion.
Warning
Leaving the magnet near the screen for too long makes the bits of phosphor become permanently magnetized. The distortion will never go away, which destroys the computer screen.