Thermal Imagers

Thermal Imaging

The special world of thermography and thermal images includes the temperature-measuring kind of thermal imagers called “Radiometric”, by those in the business, and “Quantitative” by those mostly in R&D with thermal imaging.

Then, too, there are those who call it “Thermology” when it applies to measurements made on the human body and “Medical Thermography” by still others, some even in the same business.

Users of infrared thermal imaging have many options in cameras both with and without temperature scales or temperature indication.

It seems really odd to have all these different names kicking about, when they all refer to the same basic technology. The names seem to differ only by application area. In reality, they all work because of the same Law of Physics, called Planck’s Law.

That’s the same law that describes how IR thermometers, optical pyrometers, radiation thermometers and infrared intrusion or people detectors work (note the common trait of multiple names).

The only thing that an IR thermal imager of any denomination really does is take the output from an infrared detector, or plethora of detectors, and presents a 2-D scan of the infrared intensity distribution in the field of view of an optical system.

These devices could be called by one common name. The devices that provide temperature information, probably more than any other type of device should be called Infrared Imagers, or Thermal Infrared Imagers or, simply, Thermal Imagers.

Go to our thermal imaging section by clicking the above underlined link and learn more than you ever thought you would want to know about the subject.

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