light pen
NounWordNet 3.0
Noun (1)
- (computer science) a pointer that when pointed at a computer display senses whether or not the spot is illuminatedSynonyms: light penelectronic stylus
Free On-line Dictionary of Computing
light pen
<hardware> An early pointing device which the user pointed at a raster-scanned display screen. A photocell in the pen detected the flying spot of the raster scan. The position of the spot at that instant, obtained from the scanning electronics, was made available to software as (x, y) co-ordinates.
(2003-12-02)