TV static—known in Chinese as '雪花屏' and in English as 'TV static' or 'TV snow'—is essentially white noise produced when a TV's antenna fails to receive an adequate signal, resulting in flickering white or black dots on the screen.
Research shows that this random flickering has a strong attention-hijacking effect: when the brain is faced with irregular visual stimuli, it unconsciously diverts cognitive resources from other needs, such as eating, in an attempt to interpret the chaotic information.
For example, an experiment at Flinders University in Australia found that approximately 23% of participants in a state of hunger quickly lost their desire to eat after watching TV static, resulting in an overall reduction of caloric intake by nearly 40%.
TV static can be seen as a 'psychological reset' signal—just as some TV show intros use static to evoke a sense of mystery and anticipation, some people watch static before bedtime as if telling their brain, 'Now you can relax; everything is calm.'
In modern society, this random flickering also symbolizes information overload: we are bombarded daily with vast amounts of scattered information, much like TV static, which is disorderly and noisy. While this phenomenon can help alleviate anxiety and improve concentration for some, it may lead others to experience distraction, low mood, or even anxiety.
Many wonder why TV static is often linked to the Big Bang. In fact, this phenomenon is most common in older televisions, particularly those using analog CRT technology. When these older TVs fail to receive a proper signal, their antennas capture random electromagnetic waves, including a small fraction of the cosmic microwave background radiation—a remnant thermal radiation from the Big Bang that is uniformly distributed throughout the universe at a temperature of approximately 2.725°C.
Although this radiation is extremely weak, under certain conditions the electromagnetic signals received may contain trace amounts of this 'cosmic echo.' In this sense, TV static is not merely a product of technical malfunction; it subtly allows us to 'see' the afterglow of the Big Bang, creating a fascinating connection across time and space.
However, it is important to clarify that this connection does not mean that cosmic microwave background radiation is the primary cause of TV static. In reality, TV static is mainly caused by various noise and interference signals in the reception environment, and any contribution from cosmic radiation is negligible.