Infrared (IR) light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength longer than that of visible light, measured from the nominal edge of visible red light at 0.74 micrometers, and extending conventionally to 300 micrometres. These wavelengths correspond to a frequency range of approximately 1 to 400 THz, and include most of the thermal radiation emitted by objects near room temperature. Microscopically, IR light is typically emitted or absorbed by molecules when they change their rotational-vibrational movements.
Sunlight at zenith provides an irradiance of just over 1 kilowatt per square meter at sea level. Of this energy, 527 watts is infrared radiation, 445 watts is visible light, and 32 watts is ultraviolet radiation.
Infrared imaging is used extensively for military and civilian purposes. Military applications include target acquisition, surveillance, night vision, homing and tracking. Non-military uses include thermal efficiency analysis, remote temperature sensing, short-ranged wireless communication, spectroscopy, and weather forecasting. Infrared astronomy uses sensor-equipped telescopes to penetrate dusty regions of space, such as molecular clouds; detect objects such as planets, and to view highly red-shifted objects from the early days of the universe.
Humans at normal body temperature radiate chiefly at wavelengths around 12 μm (micrometers), as shown by Wien's displacement law.
At the atomic level, infrared energy elicits vibrational modes in a molecule through a change in the dipole moment, making it a useful frequency range for study of these energy states for molecules of the proper symmetry. Infrared spectroscopy examines absorption and transmission of photons in the infrared energy range, based on their frequency and intensity.
Objects generally emit infrared radiation across a spectrum of wavelengths, but sometimes only a limited region of the spectrum is of interest because sensors usually collect radiation only within a specific bandwidth. Therefore, the infrared band is often subdivided into smaller sections.
A commonly used sub-division scheme is:
NIR and SWIR is sometimes called "reflected infrared" while MWIR and LWIR is sometimes referred to as "thermal infrared." Due to the nature of the blackbody radiation curves, typical 'hot' objects, such as exhaust pipes, often appear brighter in the MW compared to the same object viewed in the LW.
Designation | Abbreviation | Wavelength |
Designation | Abbreviation | Wavelength |
These divisions are not precise and can vary depending on the publication. The three regions are used for observation of different temperature ranges, and hence different environments in space.
A third scheme divides up the band based on the response of various detectors:
These divisions are justified by the different human response to this radiation: near infrared is the region closest in wavelength to the radiation detectable by the human eye, mid and far infrared are progressively further from the visible spectrum. Other definitions follow different physical mechanisms (emission peaks, vs. bands, water absorption) and the newest follow technical reasons (The common silicon detectors are sensitive to about 1,050 nm, while InGaAs' sensitivity starts around 950 nm and ends between 1,700 and 2,600 nm, depending on the specific configuration). Unfortunately, international standards for these specifications are not currently available.
The boundary between visible and infrared light is not precisely defined. The human eye is markedly less sensitive to light above 700 nm wavelength, so longer wavelengths make insignificant contributions to scenes illuminated by common light sources. But particularly intense light (e.g., from IR lasers, or from bright daylight with the visible light removed by colored gels) can be detected up to approximately 780 nm, and will be perceived as red light, although sources of up to 1050 nm can be seen as a dull red glow in intense sources. The onset of infrared is defined (according to different standards) at various values typically between 700 nm and 800 nm.
!Band | !Descriptor | !Wavelength range |
O band | Original | 1260–1360 nm |
E band | Extended | 1360–1460 nm |
S band | Short wavelength | 1460–1530 nm |
C band | Conventional | 1530–1565 nm |
L band | Long wavelength | 1565–1625 nm |
U band | Ultralong wavelength | 1625–1675 nm |
The C-band is the dominant band for long-distance telecommunication networks. The S and L bands are based on less well established technology, and are not as widely deployed.
Infrared radiation is popularly known as "heat" or sometimes known as "heat radiation", since many people attribute all radiant heating to infrared light and/or all infrared radiation to heating. This is a widespread misconception, since light and electromagnetic waves of any frequency will heat surfaces that absorb them. Infrared light from the Sun only accounts for 49% of the heating of the Earth, with the rest being caused by visible light that is absorbed then re-radiated at longer wavelengths. Visible light or ultraviolet-emitting lasers can char paper and incandescently hot objects emit visible radiation. Objects at room temperature will emit radiation mostly concentrated in the 8 to 25 micrometer band, but this is not distinct from the emission of visible light by incandescent objects and ultraviolet by even hotter objects (see black body and Wien's displacement law).
Heat is energy in transient form that flows due to temperature difference. Unlike heat transmitted by thermal conduction or thermal convection, radiation can propagate through a vacuum.
The concept of emissivity is important in understanding the infrared emissions of objects. This is a property of a surface which describes how its thermal emissions deviate from the ideal of a black body. To further explain, two objects at the same physical temperature will not "appear" the same temperature in an infrared image if they have differing emissivities.
The use of infrared light and night vision devices should not be confused with thermal imaging which creates images based on differences in surface temperature by detecting infrared radiation (heat) that emanates from objects and their surrounding environment.
Thermographic cameras detect radiation in the infrared range of the electromagnetic spectrum (roughly 900–14,000 nanometers or 0.9–14 μm) and produce images of that radiation. Since infrared radiation is emitted by all objects based on their temperatures, according to the black body radiation law, thermography makes it possible to "see" one's environment with or without visible illumination. The amount of radiation emitted by an object increases with temperature, therefore thermography allows one to see variations in temperature (hence the name).
A hyperspectral image, a basis for chemical imaging, is a "picture" containing continuous spectrum through a wide spectral range. Hyperspectral imaging is gaining importance in the applied spectroscopy particularly in the fields of NIR, SWIR, MWIR, and LWIR spectral regions. Typical applications include biological, mineralogical, defence, and industrial measurements.
Thermal Infrared Hyperspectral Camera can be applied similarly to a Thermographic camera, with the fundamental difference that each pixel contains a full LWIR spectrum. Consequently, chemical identification of the object can performed without a need for an external light source such as the Sun or the Moon. Such cameras are typically applied for geological measurements, outdoor surveillance and UAV applications.
Infrared heating is also becoming more popular in industrial manufacturing processes, e.g. curing of coatings, forming of plastics, annealing, plastic welding, print drying. In these applications, infrared heaters replace convection ovens and contact heating. Efficiency is achieved by matching the wavelength of the infrared heater to the absorption characteristics of the material.
Free space optical communication using infrared lasers can be a relatively inexpensive way to install a communications link in an urban area operating at up to 4 gigabit/s, compared to the cost of burying fiber optic cable.
Infrared lasers are used to provide the light for optical fiber communications systems. Infrared light with a wavelength around 1,330 nm (least dispersion) or 1,550 nm (best transmission) are the best choices for standard silica fibers.
IR data transmission of encoded audio versions of printed signs is being researched as an aid for visually impaired people through the RIAS (Remote Infrared Audible Signage) project.
High, cold ice clouds such as Cirrus or Cumulonimbus show up bright white, lower warmer clouds such as Stratus or Stratocumulus show up as grey with intermediate clouds shaded accordingly. Hot land surfaces will show up as dark grey or black. One disadvantage of infrared imagery is that low cloud such as stratus or fog can be a similar temperature to the surrounding land or sea surface and does not show up. However, using the difference in brightness of the IR4 channel (10.3-11.5 µm) and the near-infrared channel (1.58-1.64 µm), low cloud can be distinguished, producing a fog satellite picture. The main advantage of infrared is that images can be produced at night, allowing a continuous sequence of weather to be studied.
These infrared pictures can depict ocean eddies or vortices and map currents such as the Gulf Stream which are valuable to the shipping industry. Fishermen and farmers are interested in knowing land and water temperatures to protect their crops against frost or increase their catch from the sea. Even El Niño phenomena can be spotted. Using color-digitized techniques, the gray shaded thermal images can be converted to color for easier identification of desired information.
A pyrgeometer is utilized in this field of research to perform continuous outdoor measurements. This is a broadband infrared radiometer with sensitivity for infrared radiation between approximately 4.5 µm and 50 µm.
The sensitivity of Earth-based infrared telescopes is significantly limited by water vapor in the atmosphere, which absorbs a portion of the infrared radiation arriving from space outside of selected atmospheric windows. This limitation can be partially alleviated by placing the telescope observatory at a high altitude, or by carrying the telescope aloft with a balloon or an aircraft. Space telescopes do not suffer from this handicap, and so outer space is considered the ideal location for infrared astronomy.
The infrared portion of the spectrum has several useful benefits for astronomers. Cold, dark molecular clouds of gas and dust in our galaxy will glow with radiated heat as they are irradiated by imbedded stars. Infrared can also be used to detect protostars before they begin to emit visible light. Stars emit a smaller portion of their energy in the infrared spectrum, so nearby cool objects such as planets can be more readily detected. (In the visible light spectrum, the glare from the star will drown out the reflected light from a planet.)
Infrared light is also useful for observing the cores of active galaxies which are often cloaked in gas and dust. Distant galaxies with a high redshift will have the peak portion of their spectrum shifted toward longer wavelengths, so they are more readily observed in the infrared.
Among many other changes in the Arnolfini Portrait of 1434 (right), the man's face was originally higher by about the height of his eye; the woman's was higher, and her eyes looked more to the front. Each of his feet was underdrawn in one position, painted in another, and then overpainted in a third. These alterations are seen in infra-red reflectograms.
Similar uses of infrared are made by historians on various types of objects, especially very old written documents such as the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Roman works in the Villa of the Papyri, and the Silk Road texts found in the Dunhuang Caves. Carbon black used in ink can show up extremely well.
Other organisms that have thermoreceptive organs are pythons (family Pythonidae), some boas (family Boidae), the Common Vampire Bat (Desmodus rotundus), a variety of jewel beetles (Melanophila acuminata), darkly pigmented butterflies (Pachliopta aristolochiae and Troides rhadamantus plateni), and possibly blood-sucking bugs (Triatoma infestans).
The discovery of infrared radiation is ascribed to William Herschel, the astronomer, in the early 19th century. Herschel published his results in 1800 before the Royal Society of London. Herschel used a prism to refract light from the sun and detected the infrared, beyond the red part of the spectrum, through an increase in the temperature recorded on a thermometer. He was surprised at the result and called them "Calorific Rays". The term 'Infrared' did not appear until late in the 19th century.
Other important dates include:
Category:Electromagnetic spectrum Category:Infrared
ar:أشعة تحت الحمراء an:Infrarroyo bn:অবলোহিত বিকিরণ zh-min-nan:Âng-goā-soàⁿ be:Інфрачырвонае выпраменьванне be-x-old:Інфрачырвонае выпраменьваньне bs:Infracrveno zračenje bg:Инфрачервено излъчване ca:Infraroig cs:Infračervené záření cy:Is-goch da:Infrarød stråling de:Infrarotstrahlung et:Infrapunakiirgus el:Υπέρυθρη ακτινοβολία es:Radiación infrarroja eo:Infraruĝa radiado eu:Infragorri fa:فروسرخ hif:Infrared fr:Infrarouge ga:Radaíocht infridhearg gl:Radiación infravermella xal:Уландорнь толярлһн ko:적외선 hi:अधोरक्त hr:Infracrveno zračenje io:Infrereda id:Inframerah ia:Infrarubie is:Innrautt ljós it:Radiazione infrarossa he:תת-אדום kn:ಇನ್ಫ್ರಾರೆಡ್ kk:Инфрақызыл Сәуле la:Radiatio infrarubra lv:Infrasarkanais starojums lb:Infraroutstralung lt:Infraraudonieji spinduliai hu:Infravörös sugárzás mk:Инфрацрвено зрачење ml:ഇൻഫ്രാറെഡ് തരംഗം mr:अवरक्त किरण arz:انفراريد ms:Sinar inframerah mn:Хэт улаан туяа nl:Infrarood new:इन्फ्रारेड ja:赤外線 no:Infrarød stråling nn:Infraraud stråling oc:Infraroge om:Infrared Radiation pnb:تھلویں لال pl:Podczerwień pt:Radiação infravermelha ro:Infraroșu ru:Инфракрасное излучение sq:Rrezet infra të kuqe simple:Infrared sk:Infračervené žiarenie sl:Infrardeče valovanje sr:Инфрацрвена светлост sh:Infracrveno zračenje su:Infrabeureum fi:Infrapunasäteily sv:Infraröd strålning ta:அகச்சிவப்புக் கதிர் tt:Инфракызыл нурланыш th:รังสีอินฟราเรด tr:Kızılötesi uk:Інфрачервоне випромінювання ur:زیرسرخ ug:ئىنفرا قىزىل نۇر vi:Hồng ngoại war:Infrared zh-yue:紅外光 bat-smg:Infrarauduonė̄jė spėndolē zh:红外线This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
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