General Thermography Frequently Asked Questions page 3

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What application is infrared used in?
Can you see through walls with an infrared camera?
What do Infrared Cameras see?
Can Infrared measure temperature?
What are the industrial and commercial applications of infrared thermography?
What are the differences between night vision and thermal imaging?
What is the Camera Resolution?

What application is infrared used in?

Thermography, building inspections, monitoring & control applications, medical imaging, communications, night vision, infrared photography, Spectroscopy, military, research & development, process control, meteorology, astronomy, art history, biological systems, photobiomodulation, law enforcement, emergency services, military, infrared building inspections, commercial, residential, and industrial. Just to name a few.

Can you see through walls with an infrared camera?

Unlike the movies, with infrared, we cannot see through walls. We can only see temperature differences present due to the conduction, convection, or radiation of thermal energy. While shorter infrared waves can be seen as colors, as infrared waves get longer they give off radiation in the form of thermal energy. Infrared waves are considered to be energy. Infrared cameras look at radiated energy from the first 1/1000” of the surface.

What do Infrared Cameras see?

Infrared cameras only see the emitted or radiant energy from the 1st one thousandth of an inch of the surface of most solids and liquids.

Can Infrared measure temperature?

• Infrared cameras see heat in the form of radiant energy.
• The Thermographer measures the temperature of a target. You have to put the proper data into the camera in order to get accurate temperature measurements.
• This means that setting up your camera before an inspection is important. It is also important to realize that you will be changing some of these settings in your camera during your inspection. (Of course this depends on the scope of equipment that you’re inspecting.)
  

What are the industrial and commercial applications of infrared thermography?

This technique has many applications such as industrial electrical systems, furnaces, refractory, locating wet areas in large flat roofs, identifying heat loss in buildings, security and surveillance, and medical observations. Since you are looking at heat pictures, abnormal patterns often mean specific things: a high resistance electrical connection is hotter than other connections under the same conditions, missing insulation in a building wall will show up as a warm area on the exterior, a wet area on a flat compound roof is cooler than the area around it.

What are the differences between night vision and thermal imaging?

The main difference between night vision and thermal imaging is the ability to see in total darkness. Night vision utilitzes existing light sources and amplifies them, while thermal imaging is actually reading the infrared radiation coming from an object, regardless of any visible light source, and a trained thermographer can utilize this information to get accurate temperature measurements. Read more...

What is the camera resolution?

At Infrared Cameras Inc., we offer a variety of resolutions with our cameras. The resolution of an infrared camera can be compared to a television or computer monitor resolution. The larger the resolution, the more pixels on the screen. The more pixels you have, the finer the detail of the image. Combine a high resolution with our high definition video output and you have high definition thermal imaging® . Read more ..