Charitable Remainder Trust

(1) (C RunTime) See runtime library.

(2) (Cathode Ray Tube) A vacuum tube used as a display screen in a computer monitor or TV. The viewing end of the tube is coated with phosphors, which emit light when struck by electrons.

In the past, CRT was a popular term for the entire computer display terminal. Today, "monitor" is the correct term as computer displays have shifted from CRTs to flat LCD panels (see flat panel display). Likewise, TV sets are widely available in LCD and plasma flat panel technologies. However, the CRT television is not over and done with. "Direct view" CRT sets come in wide screen, HDTV models that are more affordable and offer quality equal to or better than LCD and plasma TVs. See flat panel TV and rear-projection TV.

Electrons and Phosphors

The CRT works by heating a cathode which causes electrons to flow. Accelerating and focusing anodes turn the electrons into a fine beam that is directed to the phosphors by magnetic fields that are generated by steering coils. The viewing end of a color CRT tube is coated with red, green and blue phosphor dots, and separate "electron guns" bombard their respective colors a line at a time in a prescribed sequence (see raster scan).

The resulting color displayed on screen is derived by the intensity of the electron beams as they strike the red, green and blue phosphors and cause them to glow at each pixel location. See cathode and vacuum tube.

Back to the 1800s

The first oscilloscope tube was developed in 1897 by German scientist Ferdinand Braun. Using a fluorescent screen and still known as a "Braun tube" in Germany, his "cathode-ray oscilloscope" was used to display the patterns of electronic signals. Although better known for inventing the CRT, Braun shared the Nobel Prize in 1909 with Guglielmo Marconi for wireless telegraphy.

The Braun Tube

This is one of five CRT oscilloscopes developed by Ferdinand Braun in 1897. Using a bellows, it took a strong man to evacuate the air. The successor to Sir William Crookes' vacuum tubes some 20 years earlier, these tubes used "cold" cathodes, which means they were unheated, but required a huge voltage. (Image courtesy of O'Neill's Electronic Museum)

CRT Vs. Flat Panel

The CRT started to give way to flat panels in the late 1990s. Flat panels not only take up less space, but use less energy, emit less radiation and are generally resistant to glare. (Image courtesy of EIZO Nanao Technologies Inc.)

CRT Front Projection

The first data and TV projectors used CRTs, and although mostly abandoned, they continue to provide the highest quality. In 2000, this home theater was built by a serious video enthusiast, who enjoys tweaking the system and has no plans on replacing the CRTs. (Images courtesy of Kal of CurtPalm.com)

Download Computer Desktop Encyclopedia to your iPhone/iTouch

A tax-exempt irrevocable trust designed to reduce the taxable income of individuals by first dispersing income to the beneficiaries of the trust for a specified period of time and then donating the remainder of the trust to the designated charity.

Investopedia Says:
The whole idea of a charitable remainder trust is to reduce taxes. This is done by first donating assets into the trust and then having it pay the beneficiary for a stated period of time. Once this time-frame expires, the remainder of the estate is transferred to the charities deemed as beneficiaries.

Related Links:
There are several things to consider when it comes to this type of charitable giving. Make sure you're well informed. Gifting Your Retirement Assets To Charity
This arrangement allows you to have more control over your estate - both before and after your death. Establishing A Revocable Living Trust
Learn various tactics for divesting your overexposure to any one stock. Solutions For Concentrated Positions

Irrevocable Trust that pays income to one or more individuals until the Grantor's death, at which time the balance, which is tax free, passes to a designated charity. It is a popular tax-saving alternative for individuals who have no children or who are wealthy enough to benefit both children and charity.

The charitable remainder trust is the reverse of a charitable lead trust, whereby a charity receives income during the grantor's life and the remainder passes to designated family members upon the grantor's death. The latter trust reduces estate taxes while enabling the family to retain control of the assets.

Trust to which a donor transfers assets and that distributes income to finance a predetermined situation. After the trust expires, any remaining assets are donated to the qualified charity that was previously designated as the remainder beneficiary (beneficiary of Trust). In the year of transfer, the donor receives a tax deduction for the future value of the assets that were transferred to the trust. Thus, under this type of trust, the donor (person who creates the trust) simply makes an irrevocable transfer of an asset(s) to a trustee. According to the trust agreement, the trustee must: (1) invest the asset contributed to the trust; (2) pay a predetermined annual income to the donor and/or another designated beneficiary for life or stipulated number of years; and (3) distribute the asset(s) to the charity, either when the donor dies or when a specific designated income beneficiary dies.