Appendices
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puddles of water and other cold objects appear dark (or cool). Scenes with fa-
miliar objects will be easy to interpret with some experience.
Infrared energy is part of a complete range of radiation called the electromag-
netic spectrum. The electromagnetic spectrum includes gamma rays, X-rays,
ultraviolet, visible, infrared, microwaves (RADAR), and radio waves. The only
difference is their wavelength or frequency. All these forms of radiation travel
at the speed of light. Infrared radiation lies between the visible and RADAR
range of the electromagnetic spectrum. The primary source of infrared radia-
tion is heat, or thermal radiation. Any object which has a temperature radiates
in the infrared range of the electromagnetic spectrum. Even objects that are
very cold, such as an ice cube, emit infrared. When an object is not quite hot
enough to radiate visible light, it will emit most of its energy in the infrared. For
example, hot charcoal may not give off light, but it does emit infrared radiation,
which we feel as heat. The warmer the object, the more infrared radiation it
emits.
Infrared imaging devices produce an image of invisible infrared or ‘heat’ radia-
tion that is unseen by the human eye. There are no colors or ‘shades’ of gray
in infrared, only varying intensities of radiated energy. The infrared imager
converts this energy into an image that we can interpret. The Infrared Training
Center (ITC) offers training (including online training) and certification in all as-
pects of thermography: https://www.infraredtraining.com.
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