Infrared lights can be used to look under layers of
• ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES painting to determine if there are older layers
INFRARED
INTRODUCTION TO INFRARED WAVE
The infrared waves are all around us and earth is full
of infrared waves. These waves are emitted by anything
which is capable of emitting heat.
The infrared spectrum is further sub divided into five
categories:
HISTORY OF THE DISCOVERY OF INFRARED
WAVES
British astronomer William
Herschel discovered infrared
light in 1800, according to
NASA. Herschel performed
further experiments on what he
called the "calorific rays" that
existed beyond the red part of
the spectrum and found that
they were reflected, refracted,
absorbed and transmitted just like
visible light. What Sir William had
discovered was a form of light (or radiation)
beyond red light. These "calorific rays"
were later renamed infrared rays or infrared
radiation (the prefix infra means `below’).
Herschel's experiment was important not only because it
led to the discovery of infrared, but also because it was
the first time that someone showed that there were forms
of light that we cannot see with our eyes. In an
experiment to measure the difference in temperature
between the colors in the visible spectrum, he placed
thermometers in the path of light within each color of the
visible spectrum. He observed an increase in temperature
from blue to red, including an even warmer temperature
measurement just beyond the red end of the visible
spectrum.
USES OF INFRARED
• Thermography
Thermography uses infrared technology to determine the
relative temperature of objects by detecting the amount
of radiation they are producing.
• Meteorology
Weather satellites use infrared technology to determine
water temperature and cloud formations.
• Art History
underneath.
• Heating
Infrared can also be used to create and conduct heat.
Infrared saunas have become popular in the physical
therapy field.
• Communications
Some of these wavelengths are used in optical
communication to carry the information from one place
to another. It is also used to have a channel for short
range communication.
• Tracking Technology
Infrared can be used in tracking technology; objects,
commonly missiles, can be sent to follow a target based
on their infrared radiation.
• Astronomy
Astronomers can look at an area of the sky that is dark
in the visual part of the electromagnetic spectrum
but find the area is extremely active in the infrared. Most
objects that have any significant heat produce infrared
waves, but not everything is hot enough to light up.
HAZARDS
• BURNS
• SKIN IRRITATION
• LOW BLOOD PRESSURE
• EYE DAMAGE
• DEHYDRATION
• HAZARD OF INFRARED RADIATION
• GREEN HOUSE EFFECT
The trapped radiation causes increased temperatures and
changes in weather that could be harmful to people and
animals.
MORE ABOUT INFRARED RADIATION
• Infrared rays are being used by medical
professionals to detect hard-to-find veins when
doing venipuncture and cannulation.
• Humans, at normal body temperature, radiate
most strongly in the infrared at a wavelength of
about 10 microns.
• In firefighting, infrared cameras are being used
to locate people or animals in heavy spots and to
detect hot spots in forest fires.
• Thirty minutes in an infrared sauna burns
hundreds of calories and makes you sweat off
500 grams in one session.
• Weather forecasters use satellite pictures to see
what's heading our way. Some of the images
they use are taken using IR cameras, because
they show cloud and rain patterns more clearly.
IR-2019 PCSHS