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What is thermal imaging used for and how does it work?

Dec 08, 2020 | 12:03 am 781 0
What is thermal imaging used for and how does it work?

The craving for self-improvement is characteristic of humanity and is the main paradigm of our existence. Thanks to these qualities, we have climbed so high up the evolutionary ladder. Our brain and its capabilities have become our main weapon, giving rise to both attacking weapons and the means of defense that we constantly use in existence.

Lacking the physical ability to survive in the wild, we have subdued nature to ourselves, surrounding ourselves with technology and new opportunities. It is not surprising that our species is exploring space and making amazing discoveries. After all, we tend to level our shortcomings, sometimes even turning them into advantages.

Our eyesight has become a vivid illustration of this. The weak and unreliable function of our body, which looks ridiculous even against our domestic cat predators' background, has become super-strength over time. Thanks to scientists and the military, who gave us two ways to see the night vision devices and thermal imaging technology in the darkness of the night. It is about the latter that we would like to tell in more detail.

How does thermal imaging work?

Thermal imaging technology is a simple and elegant invention that allows us to see beyond the human eye. It works in the most extreme conditions, in the complete absence of light, in smoke, in snow, in the rain, in fog and smog. Its fields of application are extensive: from military purposes to saving lives in peacetime.

The essence of this invention is that every object, especially a living one, emits infrared energy: heat. The human eye is unable to perceive radiated heat waves within its range. But the use of special equipment makes it possible to read and display this radiation, which usually correlates with the general temperature background of the object and is called a thermal signature.

The special equipment is a very complex device. At the heart of it is an ultra-sensitive sensor capable of capturing the smallest temperature fluctuations. By analyzing the incoming information, such devices visualize this information, showing a kind of thermal map.

The viewer's image is often grayscale, where cold areas are black and lighter shades represent an increase in temperature. The newer thermal imagers are color-coded and provide a great visual experience with intuitive, colorful thermal signatures.

Applications of thermal imaging.

Needless to say, this technology has become fantastic, opening up incredible horizons in many areas, both humanitarian and military. Actually, being a military project, whose first combat tests fell on the years of the Korean War, today, the use of thermal imagers goes far beyond military conflicts and hunt-ing. Although, if you look at what the modern market is rich in, then other application areas will no longer be so interesting. After all, looking at such instances as AGM Cobra TB50-336 or AGM Python TS25-336, your only wish is to quit reading this article and leave to test this equipment in the field.

But don't be in a hurry. You might be surprised to know how deeply thermal imaging devices have penetrated our lives.

For example, hardly anyone thought that they are actively used in electrical service. Identification of the thermal signatures is more accurate and faster than other methods to identify parts and joints starting to overheat. That allows to carry out preventive repairs and save money and nerves of consumers.

In plumbing, finding leaks in pipes today is simply impossible without a thermal imager, especially if the emergency area is in the wall. It is fast, reliable, and uncomplicated and provides safety by eliminating the need for time-consuming and dangerous operations.

The job of builders and engineers has also become much easier and safer. The ability to create a temperature map of the building in the shortest possible time makes your head spin! Finding leaks, analyzing structural changes in the structure, and identifying heat loss can now be done in a matter of hours. And all this is possible thanks to thermal imagers.

In general, building maintenance is a limitless area of application for this amazing equipment. Even pest control becomes much more effective. Especially considering the non-invasive nature of research with thermal imagers.

Public health and medicine are also grateful for such a useful invention. This has become especially obvious now, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Imagine how much the speed of passenger traffic will increase with an automatic screening at airports.

Thermal imagers have also found their application in diagnostics. It turned out that the diagnosis of several diseases, especially those related to the circulatory system, is much faster and more accurate with such devices. And veterinarians and animal lovers generally should be delighted. After all, our pets can not speak, and heat signatures sometimes speak for them, saving the lives of our furry friends.

It is quite natural that the use of technology-based on the difference in temperature regimes has become indispensable in the fight against fire. Fire departments will probably find it difficult to say how many lives the thermal imagers helped save. They make it possible to see through smoke, an ox of darkness, and chaos of the fire. And their use to determine fire sources makes fire extinguishing even more effective.

The police do not neglect thermal imaging either. For law enforcement, these devices are even better suit-ed than night vision devices since they do not require additional light sources and are not affected by light changes.

Even transportation and logistics have adopted the ability to distinguish objects in impenetrable darkness. For example, shipping actively uses thermal imagers to monitor the open sea at night. If the captain of the Titanic had such a device, a terrible disaster could have been avoided.

Even in the automotive industry, infrared cameras that work in automatic mode have begun to be implemented. They scan blind spots, alerting the driver to people and animals that the naked eye cannot see. The widespread use of such devices may help reduce the number of road accidents.

We will not even remember about science and researchers. These guys use thermal imagers everywhere in their projects and experiments. And no one knows what amazing discoveries humanity will receive thanks to this.

What is the conclusion? All the opportunities of thermal imaging are wide and, at times, unusual. Generally, the possibilities of using a thermal imager are limited only by your imagination. Some people even use it to place the loveliest chair in the coolest place! Fans of watching birds and wildlife have actively adopted new devices. As in other industries, their use provides new possibilities and opens up new horizons for the hobby.

As you can see, it is more difficult to figure out where a thermal imager will not help you than to list all the industries where it will be useful. There is only one problem with this perfect equation: good thermal imager costs a lot of money. But, on the other hand, its purchase will quickly pay off. If you use the services of a trusted and reliable supplier, for example, https://www.agmglobalvision.com/, then the pleasure of using it will be incomparable with financial spending.


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