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About a Light Pen

The first light pen was invented at MIT in 1952. The light pen is a computer peripheral (or accessory) that is commonly found in businesses and is also used with some handheld mobile devices.

  1. Identification

    • A light pen resembles an ordinary pen but does not have any ink.

    Use

    • Light pens are used with a touch-sensitive computer screen to write and make selections.

    Applications

    • Light pens are often found with PDAs and pocket computers. You are likely to see a light pen at a retail or grocery store, where it is used to sign for a credit card purchase on a specialized terminal.

    Misconceptions

    • The light pen itself does not shine any light or give off any illumination, epanorama.net explains. Rather, when the tip of the pen is placed against the screen, beams of light from the screen reflect off the tip, recording the pen's location and allowing a selection to be made or writing to occur.

    Features

    • When light pens are used with computers or credit card terminals, the pen or the entire terminal is attached to the computer with a USB cable.

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