| Every day, cameras capture some of the most | | | | tendency becomes even more pronounced at night. |
| breathtaking sights on earth. The ripple of water as it | | | | Infrared cameras can be used to look for people and |
| cascades down cliffs, a fire engine-red rose in full | | | | animals lost or trapped in places such as thick forests, |
| bloom, a leaf floating on a puddle - these images are | | | | areas beneath avalanches and collapsed structures, |
| preserved in memory and in colored prints, thanks to | | | | and huge bodies of water. |
| cameras. The same cannot be said of infrared | | | | Smoke Gets in Your Eyes |
| cameras, however. | | | | Infrared cameras may also be useful in search and |
| Infrared cameras do not capture images the way we | | | | rescue operations. To illustrate how infrared cameras |
| see them in real life. In fact, the pictures that infrared | | | | are used in this case, imagine a typical raging inferno. |
| cameras produce may even appear odd, disfigured, or | | | | As flames lick up houses one at a time, firefighters |
| even ugly. Some even think the random splashes of | | | | often have to walk through areas where visibility is |
| bright color indicate that the camera is broken. Once | | | | nearly zero. This is where specially designed infrared |
| you understand how infrared cameras are used, | | | | cameras come handy. Built to endure extreme |
| however, these images begin to make sense, and | | | | temperatures, these cameras help firefighters spot fire |
| even become beautiful in an indefinable way. | | | | victims, as well as areas where fire still rages. The |
| Somewhere Outside the Rainbow | | | | camera's display is attached to the brim of a |
| Infrared light includes a range of radiation that we | | | | firefighter's helmet, for easy access to information. |
| cannot see. Red is the brightest color on rainbows, and | | | | Fire, Ice, and Bodies |
| infrared radiation is just a little bit beyond it. On the | | | | On other occasions, infrared cameras are used to |
| other end, infrared radiation is positioned only a little bit | | | | search people, rather than to search for them. In the |
| below microwave radiation. For infrared light to be | | | | medical field, high-speed infrared pictures allow |
| captured, nothing should block the object that is | | | | physicians to examine patients for extreme cooling or |
| "viewing" the radiation. Infrared transmissions are used | | | | heating of the body. These changes indicate medical |
| in audio and video remote controls, various detectors, | | | | problems, among them cancerous tissues, abnormal |
| and wireless connections between tools for | | | | circulation, and inflammation. |
| computers. | | | | Don't Drink Water If It Gets Cooler |
| Hot Pictures | | | | Infrared cameras may also be used to study the |
| The average Joe would find it hard to explain how | | | | causes of medical problems. To better understand |
| infrared cameras are used. But really, the principle is | | | | how infrared cameras are used in this context, let's |
| simple. Its even akin to the principle behind the workings | | | | focus on drinking water. The Environmental Protection |
| of a regular camera. | | | | Agency, or EPA, notes that polluted drinking water and |
| This is how infrared cameras are used. An infrared | | | | surface water is one of the United States' gravest |
| camera captures an object's black-body radiation. A | | | | environmental problems. Infrared cameras are often |
| body emits this radiation due to temperature. The | | | | used to monitor stormwater drainage systems that |
| warmest infrared colors are usually white. Middle | | | | flow into rivers, streams, creeks, and lakes. The |
| temperatures are colored yellow and red, and the | | | | cameras contrast the flow of non-water liquids, which |
| coolest temperatures are colored blue. Infrared | | | | is generally warmer than the flow of water, with |
| cameras work in pitch black because the amount of | | | | water. The cameras quickly scan the region, including |
| light surrounding objects is irrelevant. This, as well as | | | | regions that would be difficult to access without |
| other features, makes them ideal for several functions. | | | | infrared cameras. Then, they indicate the problematic |
| Hot Bodies | | | | areas on a digital map. |
| You may still be a little confused over how infrared | | | | There is no doubt technology continues to improve our |
| cameras are used, but there's no doubt you've seen | | | | lives, and the infrared camera is no exception. It shows |
| one of its most practical applications. Infrared cameras | | | | us what is otherwise invisible and gives hope when |
| are used to save lives. People and other mammals | | | | there is none. |
| usually give off more heat than their environment. This | | | | |