Most people don’t think about it, but our everyday life is affected by thermal imaging equipment. It is used in many sectors of government and business to detect heat, which manifests on the infrared radiation frequency. Thermal imaging technology has advanced rapidly in the last 50 years, and is being more widely used, despite its cost.
Thermal imaging equipment got its start centuries ago when infrared radiation was discovered by Sir William Herschel. In 1800, he was searching for a filter to observe sunspots when he discovered that a red filter showed temperatures that were too high for the visible light spectrum. His conclusion that an invisible light existed beyond the visible light spectrum eventually led to the technology we have today. In the 1950s and 1960s, initial thermal imaging cameras were being developed for military purposes.
The very first thermal imaging equipment instruments invented were simple detection devices that in half a century, developed into the high-tech technology we see today. In the 1970s a more advanced version of the detectors was invented. In the late seventies, government grants were provided to two companies, Raytheon and Honeywell, to advance thermal imaging technology for military purposes. As technology, funds, and production increased, the cost of thermal imaging equipment decreased and the thermal imaging equipment became available outside the military in the early nineties.
Thermal Imaging Equipment
Matter, Matters With Thermal Imaging Equipment
All matter is made of atoms that are in constant motion. The motion of the atoms generates heat, which can be seen on a thermal imaging camera. Thermal imaging equipment captures what we cannot see with our eyes, heat. The way the camera works to detect the infrared frequency is surprising simple. Like any camera, a thermal imager requires a lens to capture the world around it.
As the image is captured, it passes through a special lens that detects infrared radiation, and then sends an electronic signal to a monitor or viewing screen to display the image as it was captured, but in infrared. In addition to capturing a photograph displaying infrared radiation, the imagers are also able to calculate or approximate temperatures for the image.
Thermal imaging equipment varies greatly in shape and size. The most commonly seen versions of thermal imagers are camcorder-like and radar gun-like. The camcorder-like thermal imagers are commonly used by the military and police force. You are able to directly see the image in front of you without having to study a screen; however many have screens that can be used.
The radar gun styles of thermal imagers are mostly found in other sectors of business. They are able to point and shoot images, then display them on a screen immediately. Other variations of thermal imagers include styles that resemble binoculars, cell phones, helmet mounts, and gun scopes.
The use of thermal imaging equipment was initially used by the military because it gave the user the ability to see what was going on around them through smoke, in the dark, and in buildings around them. Over time, it has branched out from military purposes to providing great assistance to police forces and firefighters.
Police are able to implement thermal images in a variety of ways that help them save lives, catch criminals and prevent personal injury. Firefighter’s use thermal imagers as well to seek out the base of a fire and search for trapped survivors or firefighters.
Thermal imagers are also used to monitor forest fires, to prevent them, and calculate the spread of them. NASA uses thermal imagers to study the temperature of the earth. They explore areas of space that ordinary cameras cannot see due to dust and particles and they explore and map other planets.
Thermal imagers have found a place in the medical field, as they accurately show what the human eye cannot see. They can be used for detecting cancerous masses in the body, particularly for mammograms and to screen for fevers, among other applications. Thermal imaging equipment also has applications outside the government sector. Thermal imaging is also handy for determining leaks in walls, windows, pipes, machinery, and more. Other applications include, volcanic monitoring, chemical imaging, and surveillance and security; the list goes on.
It is important to note that thermal imaging equipment is not necessarily night vision equipment. Night vision works in three ways, one of which is thermal imaging. What we commonly think of as night vision is image intensification or active illumination.
They work by intensifying the available light cast by the moon, stars, or other sources or by providing an artificial source of near-infrared lighting to produce an image of the world in the dark. Thermal imaging can be used for night vision, but is not as detailed as the other types since it can only provide a difference in temperature between objects.
Thermal imaging equipment has advanced quickly since its invention and will surely continue to do so in the future.