How Does Infrared Technology Work?

Thermal, or infrared, detection systems utilize sensors to pick up radiation in the infrared part of the electromagnetic spectrum. An infrared camera detects the thermal energy or heat emitted by the scene being observed and converts it into an electronic signal. This signal is then processed to produce an image.

1. What is infrared technology used for?
2. What devices use infrared technology?
3. What technology uses infrared light?
4. How do infrared waves heat objects?
5. What are three examples of infrared technologies?
6. What is infrared in mobile phones?
7. What is infrared networking?
8. What color is infrared light?
9. Why infrared technology is used in wireless communication?
10. Why does infrared feel hot?
11. How is infrared produced?
12. What are some applications or uses of infrared waves?
13. How do infrared heaters work?
14. Why is infrared hotter than ultraviolet?
15. What two technologies help humans detect infrared waves?

What is infrared technology used for?

Infrared thermal-imaging cameras are used to detect heat loss in insulated systems, to observe changing blood flow in the skin, and to detect the overheating of electrical components. Military and civilian applications include target acquisition, surveillance, night vision, homing, and tracking.

What devices use infrared technology?

IR wireless technology is used in intrusion detectors; home-entertainment control units; robot control systems; medium-range, line-of-sight laser communications; cordless microphones, headsets, modems, and printers and other peripherals. Unlike radio-frequency (RF) wireless links, IR wireless cannot passthrough walls.

What technology uses infrared light?

Most warm objects in our everyday experiences emit infrared, and half of the energy produced by the Sun is also infrared. We use infrared radiation in many ways, including thermal imaging cameras, remote controls, fiber optic cables, infrared astronomy, and meteorology.

How do infrared waves heat objects?

Infrared light has frequencies which are absorbed by some chemical bonds. The internal energy of the bonds increases when they absorb infrared light, which causes heating. ... All objects emit infrared light. The human eye cannot see this light, but infrared cameras can detect it.

What are three examples of infrared technologies?

We have many uses for infrared: night-vision cameras, remote controls, infrared astronomy, and fiber-optic cables. The greenhouse effect is even related to infrared waves because greenhouse gases absorb the infrared emitted by the ground, trapping it on the Earth.

What is infrared in mobile phones?

IR or InfraRed lets you use your smartphone as a universal remote control for appliances like TVs, set-top boxes, media players and even air conditioners. You can add an IR blaster to your phone in two ways — get a 3.5mm IR blaster or use an IR blaster that works over Bluetooth/WiFi.

What is infrared networking?

Infrared (IR) is a wireless mobile technology used for device communication over short ranges. IR communication has major limitations because it requires line-of-sight, has a short transmission range and is unable to penetrate walls. IR transceivers are quite cheap and serve as short-range communication solutions.

What color is infrared light?

Near infrared wavelengths become visible as red while red wavelengths appear as green and green as blue. Blue wavelengths are shifted out of the visible portion of the spectrum and so they appear as black.

Why infrared technology is used in wireless communication?

Infrared is used in wireless technology devices or systems that convey data through infrared radiation. Infrared is electromagnetic energy at a wave length or wave lengths somewhat longer than those of red light. ... Infrared technology allows computing devices to communicate via short range wireless signals.

Why does infrared feel hot?

Infrared waves travel through the air and when they touch a surface, heat energy is released regardless of the surrounding air temperature. That heat energy excites the molecules in the object it meets which being to vibrate and gain energy (and warm up).

How is infrared produced?

Since the primary source of infrared radiation is heat or thermal radiation, any object which has a temperature radiates in the infrared. Even objects that we think of as being very cold, such as an ice cube, emit infrared. ... The warmer the object, the more infrared radiation it emits.

What are some applications or uses of infrared waves?

Infrared radiation can promote local blood circulation and reduce muscle tension. Examples of traditional medical applications of infrared radiation include the relief of muscle pain and tension, as well as the treatment of autoimmune diseases or wound-healing disorders.

How do infrared heaters work?

Infrared heaters work by converting electricity into radiant heat. ... It is even the same form of heat emitted by your own body. It is the most basic form of heating known to man. Infrared is the direct transfer of heat from the heater to the object (you and the room around you) without heating the air in between.

Why is infrared hotter than ultraviolet?

Ultraviolet radiation is more energetic than infrared. But “hotter” is a somewhat informal term. A photon of UV radiation has a lot more energy than a photon of IR, but the total energy has to take into account the number of photons as well. ... The heat we feel from sunlight is infrared.

What two technologies help humans detect infrared waves?

Most forms of infrared energy can be seen and measured only with the use of specialized equipment, such as infrared cameras and telescopes or night-vision goggles. These technologies use infrared waves to measure the heat released, or radiated, by an object.