Core_Computer Studies : What is a pixel?

Pixel, is named after a combination of two words picture element 'pic' from picture 'el' from element- why the use of the x I do not know but this sort of substitution and transposition of letters seems to happen a lot in computer jargon.

What is it? A pixel is the smallest unit on a display screen or monitor. Pictures are displayed on monitors by dividing the monitor up into a grid of pixels. The more pixels that are squeezed into a monitor's surface, the smoother an image on the screen will appear. Pixels are so close together that our eye reads them as being connected.

A monitor with more pixels will be more expensive and will have more pixels per inch (PPI) than a cheaper monitor.

 
A representation of pixels on screen:

 

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