Article
Article
Infrared radiation
Article By:
Puschell, Jeffery J. Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems, El Segundo, California.
Last reviewed:August 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.344500
Show previous versions
- Infrared radiation, published January 2014:Download PDF
Get Adobe Acrobat Reader
Electromagnetic radiation whose wavelengths are in the range from about 0.75 micrometer (μm) to 1 millimeter (mm). Infrared radiation (Fig. 1) is outside the range of visible light and cannot be seen with the unaided eye. Infrared radiation was discovered in 1800 by German-born English astronomer William Herschel, who used a prism to refract the light of the Sun onto mercury-in-glass thermometers placed just beyond the red end of the visible spectrum created by the prism. Materials and techniques used to detect and measure infrared radiation are usually different from those used for visible light, and many of the applications of infrared radiation are also quite different. See also: Electromagnetic radiation; Light; Radiation
The content above is only an excerpt.
About AccessScience
AccessScience provides the most accurate and trustworthy scientific information available.
Recognized as an award-winning gateway to scientific knowledge, AccessScience is an amazing online resource that contains high-quality reference material written specifically for students. Contributors include more than 10,000 highly qualified scientists and 46 Nobel Prize winners.
MORE THAN 8700 articles covering all major scientific disciplines and encompassing the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology and McGraw-Hill Yearbook of Science & Technology
115,000-PLUS definitions from the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms
3000 biographies of notable scientific figures
MORE THAN 19,000 downloadable images and animations illustrating key topics
ENGAGING VIDEOS highlighting the life and work of award-winning scientists
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY and additional readings to guide students to deeper understanding and research
LINKS TO CITABLE LITERATURE help students expand their knowledge using primary sources of information
