Degauss

[Raeanne Dimick]

Degaussing is the process of reducing a magnetic field. It can be used to reset the magnetic field of a CRT monitor or to destroy the data on a magnetic storage device.
A CRT monitor displays images by firing electrons through a cathode ray tube (CRT) onto the screen. The electron beams are focused by a plate near the screen called a shadow mask. If this plate becomes unevenly magnetized by surrounding objects or simply the earths magnetic field, it can cause discoloration on the screen. Therefore, CRT monitors often include a Degauss command that resets the magnetic field when run. Since it is impossible to eliminate the magnetic charge inside the monitor, the degaussing process realigns or randomizes the magnetic field, which provides consistent colors across the screen.
Degaussing may also be used to destroy the data on a magnetic storage device, such as a hard drive or tape drive. A hard drive degausser, for example, includes a chamber where you can insert a hard drive. When you run the degausser, it uses a process called capacitative discharge to decrease the drives magnetic field, making any data on the drive unreadable. The cycle time, which is the time it takes for the data to be erased, varies between degaussers, but is usually between ten seconds and one minute. Companies and government organizations may use degaussers to eliminate the data on storage devices before reprovisioning or discarding them.

[Renato]

the act of pressing the [degauss] button on your computer [monitor] to be rewarded with a [buzzing] sound and an exciting [dementation] of the colors.
A computer that hasnt been degaussed for a fair amount of time is considered fresh.
The longer the duration between degausses, the twangier the degauss will be. If you are patient enough to wait a few weeks without degaussing your monitor, you wont be disappointed with the twangage.
The [Degauss] Scale is used to measure the amount of [twang] from a degauss. The scale is usually from [1-10].
1: The lowest score on the twang scale. you must have just degaussed your monitor a few seconds ago in order to have a twang rating this low.
2: weak. you must have recently degaussed your monitor.
3: low. a slight twang but not much color [distortion].
4: below average. generally low amount of twang/gimpedness
5: average. this is the type of degauss you will usually get if you have gone about 30 mins without degaussing.
6: above average. a decent amount of twang duration and messed up [gamma].
7: oooh [gettin up] there. a 7 is pretty good. this means you have a good amount of twang and your color probably messed up quite a bit.
8: This is a satisfying degauss. enough twang to keep you laughing.
9: an unhealthy amount of twang and buzzing. insane color distortion.
10: these suckers only come by once in a green moon. They are so absol-friggin-twangy that they can knock you out of your seat. [10s] usually have about an 8 sec twang duration. pulling one of these off means you are a degauss [pr0]

[Vania]

To remove magnetism from a device. The term is usually used in reference to color monitors and other display devices that use a Cathode Ray Tube ([CRT]). These devices aim electrons onto the display screen by creating [magnetic fields] inside the CRT. External magnetic forces -- such as the earths natural magnetism or a magnet placed close to the monitor -- can magnetize the shadow mask, causing distorted images and colors.
To remove this external magnetic forces, most monitors automatically degauss the CRT whenever you turn on the monitor. In addition, many monitors have a manual degauss button that performs a more thorough degaussing of the CRT. You can also use an external [degausser] that degausses the monitor from the outside. Since it may be impossible to remove the external [magnetic force], degaussing works by re-aligning the magnetic fields inside the CRT to compensate for the external magnetism.

[Kai]

That option in every setting menu of every [monitor] in the world, the icon is a U with a slash through it. Little kids like to always press it because it makes the screen shake, and old people dont know about [the button]. Everyone else thinks that it either hurts your computer or [cleans] it.