thermography
Sign in to savethumb|Thermogram of a traditional building in the background and a "passive house" in the foreground
Article
29 sectionsContents
- Thermal energy
- Emissivity
- Measurement
- Color scale
- Cameras
- Types
- Cooled infrared detectors
- Uncooled infrared detectors
- CCD and CMOS thermography
- Infrared films
- Comparison with night-vision devices
- Passive vs. active thermography
- Advantages
- Limitations and disadvantages
- Applications
- Industry
- Health
- Security and defence
- Other applications
- Standards
- Regulation
- In biology
- History
- Discovery and research of infrared radiation
- First thermographic camera
- Smart sensors
- See also
- References
- External links
thumb|Thermogram of a traditional building in the background and a "passive house" in the foreground
Infrared thermography (IRT), also known as thermal imaging, is a measurement and imaging technique in which a thermal camera detects infrared radiation originating from the surface of objects. This radiation has two main components: thermal emission from the object's surface, which depends on its temperature and emissivity, and reflected radiation from surrounding sources. When the object is not (fully) opaque, i.e. exhibits nonzero transmissivity at the cameras operating wavelengths, transmitted radiation also contributes to the observed signal. The result is a visible image called a thermogram. Thermal cameras most commonly operate in the long-wave infrared (LWIR) range (7–14 μm); less frequently, systems designed for the mid-wave infrared (MWIR) range (3–5 μm) are used.