The principle of thermal imaging

Thermal imaging is a technology that creates thermal images by detecting infrared radiation from objects to show their temperature distribution. Its principle is based on the following key concepts:

Infrared radiation: All objects emit heat energy to their surroundings in the form of electromagnetic radiation called infrared radiation. The intensity and wavelength of this radiation are related to the temperature of the object, with hotter objects generally radiating more infrared light.

Infrared sensors: Thermal imaging systems use specialized infrared sensors to detect and capture infrared radiation emitted by objects. These sensors typically include thermal detectors or infrared photodetectors.

Signal processing: The signal acquired from the infrared sensor is processed to convert the infrared radiation intensity into a temperature value. This usually requires calibration to ensure accurate temperature measurements.

Image generation: By plotting each pixel's temperature information onto an image, a thermal imaging system can create a thermal image that represents the temperature distribution. Typically, areas of higher temperature appear as bright spots in the image, while areas of lower temperature appear as dark spots.

Color coding: To improve visibility, thermal images are often presented with color coding, such as showing lower temperature areas as blue or purple, medium temperature areas as green or yellow, and higher temperature areas as orange or red.

In short, the principle of thermal imaging is to detect and capture the infrared radiation emitted by an object, and convert this radiation information into a visible thermal image to display the temperature distribution of the object. This technology is used in a variety of applications, including night vision, building inspection, medical diagnostics, electrical maintenance and security monitoring.