FLIR Navigator II Operator's Manual page 21

High school physics revisited
www.actoolsupply.com
Infrared radiation combines with Gamma rays, X-rays, Ultra Violet, Visible
Light, Microwaves and Radio Waves to form a range of energy called the
Electromagnetic Spectrum.
ese are not exotically independent types of energy – in fact, the primary
difference between each of these types of radiation is wavelength: Radio Waves
have the longest wavelength and Gamma Rays have the shortest. Wavelengths
are measured in micrometers, or "microns" (µ), which are equal to one millionth
of a meter.
Infrared radiation wavelengths are longer than those of visible light. Visible
light wavelengths range from 0.4µ to 0.75µ, while infrared is between 1µ
and 15µ. ermal imagers make pictures from either the 3-5µ range (called
mid wave IR [MWIR]), or the 8-12µ range (called long wave IR [LWIR]).
ermal images may look like black & white photographs, but the two types
of images are actually quite different. Photographic cameras create images
from reflected light energy, while infrared cameras create images from radiated
thermal energy.
e amount of radiated thermal energy that reaches the Navigator II imager is
a function of the viewed object's temperature and emissivity.
between temperature and emissivity can be a complex one, but we'll sum it up
with two basic rules:
1) e hotter an object gets, the more infrared energy it radiates. Even a small
increase in temperature can result in a dramatic increase in the amount of
radiated thermal energy.
www.actoolsupply.com
21
is relationship