Pixel is the smallest element of a digital (computerized) image or display. Pixel is short for picture element. A single pixel may appear as a tiny square or dot. Pixels are generally arranged in a grid. Each pixel is assigned a color. Together, the pixels make up a picture, much like the tiles that make up a mosaic . The more pixels an image has, the more detail it can show. Modern images may be rendered in millions of pixels. The individual pixels may be too small to see with the naked eye.
The pixel is often used as a measure of resolution. Resolution is the ability of an image to show detail. For example, the resolution of a television may be expressed as “1920 x 1080.” Such a television has a display 1,920 pixels wide and 1,080 pixels tall. The more pixels a display has, the higher its resolution.
The sensors in a digital camera break down a scene into a number of smaller elements, which can also be referred to as pixels. The resolution of a digital camera is sometimes expressed in megapixels (millions of pixels). A 7 megapixel camera, for example, breaks a scene down into 7 million pixels.
