Who’d have thought of measuring the
temperature of light. But that’s how Sir William Herschel discovered infrared
rays in 1800. Also known as thermal rays, they are beyond the visible range,
below the red side of the spectrum (hence the name).
Probably application of infrared rays is in
the remote control. saving humanity the
trouble of having to get up to flick channels on TV. They’re also extensively used in mice, the ones
connected to your PC, not the rodent variety. Its other applications are in the
field of medicine, space and communication amongst several others. They are
extensively used in night vision equipment to gauge distances, detect motion,
and increase visibility in fog. Infrared equipment is used by the police and
military as well as in fires fighting to enhance visibility. They are used in
spectrometers used to test and study electronic systems.
Infrared imaging is used by satellites to
monitor the weather, vegetation patterns, ocean temperatures and several other applications
in astronomy