INFRARED

Origin of “INFRARED”

• It means below red,

• The Latin infra meaning below

• INFRARED= INFRA+RED
 HISTORY OF INFRARED
• Sir Frederick William Herschel

• Showed that the Sun emits

Infrared light by using a prism to
refract light from the sun and
detected the infrared.
Where is Infrared radiation found?
• Infrared waves are emitted by all warm objects, they also heat up
the objects on which they fall.

Example. Earth gets heated up, due to

the infrared radiation falling on it
from the sun.
HOW DOES INFRARED RADIATION
WORK?
• When infrared fall on any substances, the molecules in the

substance absorb this energy and get excited and as a result of

this, the substance gets heated.

• Objects that are not hot enough to radiate visible light will

radiate infrared.
• Examples of Infrared Radiation
heat from the Sun
heat from fire,
heat from radiator, etc.

• Infrared rays travel through air. They heat up any objects on which they fall
and produce heat. For example

surface of the earth

walls of the house
human body, etc.
 Different regions within INFRARED
CIE(International Commission of Illumination) division
scheme:
• IR-A - 0.7 to 1.4 micrometer
• IR-B - 1.4 to 3 micrometer
• IR-C - 3 to 1000 micrometer
Reference for CIE division scheme: Wikipedia.org

ISO 20473 scheme:

• Near infrared (NIR) – 0.78 to 3 micrometer
• Mid infrared (MIR) – 3 to 50 micrometer
• Far infrared (FIR) – 50 to 1000 micrometer
Reference for ISO 20473 scheme: harvardapparatus.com
Astronomy division scheme (division scheme by astronomers):
• Near Infrared (NIR) – (0.7 – 1) to 5 micrometer
• Mid Infrared (MIR) – 5 to (25 – 40) micrometer
• Far Infrared (FIR) – (25 – 40) to (200 – 350) micrometer
Reference for the above: ipac.caltech.edu

Sensor response division scheme:

• Near Infrared (NIR) – 0.7 to 1 micrometer
• Short-wave Infrared – 1 to 3 micrometer
• Mid Infrared – 3 to 5 micrometer
• Long-wave Infrared – 8 to 12 or 7 to 14 micrometer
• Very-Long wave Infrared – 12 to 30 micrometer
Reference: Princeton.edu
• Divided based on the length of the wave and density
Regions of INFRARED Characteristics

Near INFRARED, NIR • Near to the visible red region.

• fiber optic communication, night vision devices.
Remote controls, astronomy.
Short wavelength • long distance telecommunications.
INFRARED, SWIR • SWIR cameras, night vision goggles.
Medium INFRARED, MIR • Guided missile technology, infrared
spectroscopy.
Long wavelength • Thermal Imaging
INFRARED, LWIR • Astronomical telescopes
 Regions of INFRARED Characteristics

Far INFRARED, FIR • Infrared lasers

• infrared saunas
• cancer therapy
 DETECTION OF INFRARED RADIATION
• Infrared radiation can be detected by infrared detectors that
react to infrared radiation
• Infrared imaging cameras are a good example for recording
infrared images.
 USES OF INFRARED

• Night vision devices to observe animals or people using the

phenomenon called infrared illumination.

• Astronomical telescopes to detect distant planets that are in the

dusty regions of space,

• Medical field to locate diseased tissues

• Archaeology to study ancient civilizations

• Military purposes to locate enemy troops in the dark, detect
hidden mines, arm caches, to guide anti-aircraft missiles, etc.

• Industries for welding plastics, drying prints, curing (process of

hardening) coatings etc.
 APPLICATIONS OF INFRARED

• COMMUNICATION

In infrared transmission, beaming is the communication

of data between wireless devices using a beam of infrared
light.
• HEALTH CARE
Digital Infrared Thermal Imaging (DITI) is a technique that is used
for diagnosis in the medical field. It record thermograms
depending on the infrared radiation emitted by the body

Infrared radiation is used in thermotherapy,

physiotherapy, in treatments of cancer
• METEOROLOGY
Using satellites wit infrared sensor to monitor the climate and
weather of earth.

It also help detect and study pollution, fire, deforestation,

volcanoes and their ash clouds, ice mapping, sandstorms, auroras,
snow, ocean and air currents, etc.
• ASTRONOMY
Infrared telescopes are used to detect protostars and study the
cores of galaxies that usually have high dust content
• HEATING
Infrared Panels are used to emit infrared radiation to heat up the
room.
• THERMOGRAPHY
Used to determine the temperature of the objects remotely and is
used in military and industries
 Dangers
• Burns
• Electric shock
• Faintness or giddiness
• Headache
• Gangrene
• Injury to the eyes
• Dehydration