All gases have different properties. Some gases certainly do emit infrared energy. However, they normally only emit in a very narrow spectral band. Thus seeing a gas is certainly possibly by using a camera adapted with a suitable spectral filter. Seeing the gases is not the same as measuring its temperature, and there are additional … Read More
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Why does an infrared remote control not affect thermographic measurement, while the reflection of a person can?
Why does an infrared remote control not affect thermographic measurements, while the reflection of a person can? This is a question of wavelength. Infrared remote controls operate in the near infrared range (e.g. 0.85 µm or 1.55 µm), while thermographic cameras usually work within MWIR (3-5) µm, or LWIR (8-14) µm. The remote controls simply do not emit … Read More
How does wind affect thermography?
This is a regular question, and to be often it is often not understood. There are several thermography companies that do thermography and ignore wind totally. Several others only take it into account by woking below a preset limit, like 10 m/s. This limit of 10 m/s is to some extent the fault of trainers, that often … Read More
What is the cold temperature limit for infrared thermography?
This depends on the capability of the thermographic camera used. Standard uncooled cameras fitted with a microbolometer detector allow non-contact temperature measurement as low as -40°C. Below this temperature, they are still emitting in the infrared region, however due to Planck’s Law the infrared intensity emitted by objects is very low indeed. To measure below this limit … Read More
At what depth can thermography measure temperature?
I get asked this from time to time. For most materials we cannot see below the surface at all, never mind measure a temperature below the surface. The vast majority of common materials are thermally opaque, this means that the camera can only detect radiation emitted from the surface. For this reason we cannot normally … Read More
Where does infrared energy come from?
This is a question that I get asked from time to time. All objects emit infra radiation, the hotter the object, the more infrared energy it emits. It is generated by rotation and vibration of atoms and molecules. The higher the temperature, the faster the movement of the atoms and molecules, and therefore the more infrared is … Read More