As "liquid crystal display" would indicate, LCD screens use liquid crystals to switch pixels on and off to reveal a specific color. Liquid crystals are like a mixture between a solid and a liquid, where an electric current can be applied to change their state in order for a specific reaction to occur.
These liquid crystals can be thought of like a window shutter. When the shutter is open, light can easily pass through into the room. With LCD screens, when the crystals are aligned in a special way, they no longer allow that light through.
It's the back of an LCD screen that's responsible for shining light through the screen. In front of the light is a screen made up of pixels that are colored red, blue, or green. The liquid crystals are responsible for electronically turning a filter on or off in order to reveal a certain color to or keep that pixel black.
This means that LCD screens work by blocking light emanating from the back of the screen instead of creating the light themselves like with CRT screens.
This allows LCD monitors and TVs to use much less power than CRT ones.
