Have you ever wondered what infrared cameras are and how they work? To begin to understand how they work, one has to first understand and know what infrared is.
Infrared is a layer of light that cannot be seen with your naked eyes. The colors of objects that you actually see around you are reflected off the visible light waves. This results from the heat given off by the object which bends the color spectrum, hence giving its distinct color. There is, however, an invisible layer of light, just below the color red in the color spectrum that generates heat but which cannot at all be seen by the naked eye.
This low heat can be detected by an infrared camera and displayed on a monitor or viewing screen. Since infrared cameras' main function is to detect the heat of an object and not its color, the images are usually displayed as either monochromatic or green. In a way, they act like a body thermometer which tries to measure the heat given off by the object and displays it appropriately.
A wide range of application was developed after these discoveries. Although the first practical application of infrared cameras was military in nature, it gradually spread out into other fields of discipline, thus giving birth to a new era not only in the field of photography, but also in scientific fields like astronomy and medical science, where high quality thermal images can now be produced using them.
In the medical field, infrared imaging is used on a wide range of medical applications like fever screening, oncology, and breast screening. It was proven to be effective in generating images which helps doctors determine the proper medical procedure to be applied for the patient to be cured. This class of infrared imaging devices also proved valuable during the H1N1 outbreak where it enabled medical authorities to determine if a passenger that just got off the plane is suffering from any of these diseases.
Infrared cameras also help scientists determine the Earth's current state by measuring the heat that it is giving off. This helped experts determine whether a typhoon is brewing in some areas or if the "El Nino phenomenon" is about to strike a particular land mass. They have also been proven to be useful in predicting the path of a forest fire by plotting out the minute details of the wildfire as seen on an IR image.
The way infrared cameras work by detecting heat is still opening up more innovations in various fields of expertise. This is one discovery that will benefit mankind for centuries to come.
