Infrared radiation

Infrared radiation (IR), or infrared light, is a type of radiant energy that's invisible to human eyes but that we can feel as heat. All objects in the universe emit some level of IR radiation, but two of the most obvious sources are the sun and fire.

1. What is an example of infrared radiation?
2. What is infrared radiation used for?
3. How harmful is infrared radiation?
4. What happens during infrared radiation?
5. Is infrared harmful or helpful?
6. Do humans emit infrared radiation?
7. Can humans see infrared?
8. Is infrared the same as heat?
9. Can humans see visible light?
10. Does infrared radiation penetrate skin?
11. Where is infrared radiation found?
12. Why does infrared feel hot?
13. Why do hot things emit infrared?
14. Why can't humans see infrared light?
15. Is infrared cancerous?
16. What do you feel when infrared radiation hits the skin?

What is an example of infrared radiation?

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.

What is infrared radiation used for?

Infrared (IR) light is used by electrical heaters, cookers for cooking food, short-range communications like remote controls, optical fibres, security systems and thermal imaging cameras which detect people in the dark.

How harmful is infrared radiation?

Infrared Waves and Eye Damage

Exposure to intense electromagnetic radiation, including infrared radiation, can damage the lens and cornea of the eye. This is one reason why staring at the sun is harmful (and unintelligent). People who work near intense radiation must wear goggles.

What happens during infrared radiation?

Infrared radiation is emitted or absorbed by molecules when changing rotational-vibrational movements. It excites vibrational modes in a molecule through a change in the dipole moment, making it a useful frequency range for study of these energy states for molecules of the proper symmetry.

Is infrared harmful or helpful?

However, new scientific evidence shows that although helpful in some cases, infrared is also harmful for skin, especially as new research shows that the skin is potentially exposed up to six times more IR energy than UV from sunlight. ...

Do humans emit infrared radiation?

Yes, all objects, including human bodies, emit electromagnetic radiation. The wavelength of radiation emitted depends on the temperature of the objects. ... Most of the radiation emitted by human body is in the infrared region, mainly at the wavelength of 12 micron.

Can humans see infrared?

Science textbooks say we can't see infrared light. Like X-rays and radio waves, infrared light waves are outside the visual spectrum. But an international team of researchers has found that under certain conditions, the retina can sense infrared light after all.

Is infrared the same as heat?

Infrared is radiated heat: the feeling of warmth from the sun on your face; the heat from a coal fire, or a toaster. It is even the same form of heat emitted by your own body. ... Infrared waves travel through the air and when they touch a surface, heat energy is released regardless of the surrounding air temperature.

Can humans see visible light?

The visible light spectrum is the segment of the electromagnetic spectrum that the human eye can view. More simply, this range of wavelengths is called visible light. Typically, the human eye can detect wavelengths from 380 to 700 nanometers.

Does infrared radiation penetrate skin?

IR radiation can penetrate the epidermis, dermis, and subcutaneous tissue to differing extents depending on the exact wavelength range being studied. Exposure to IR is perceived as heat [2].

Where is infrared radiation found?

Infrared radiation (IR), or infrared light, is a type of radiant energy that's invisible to human eyes but that we can feel as heat. All objects in the universe emit some level of IR radiation, but two of the most obvious sources are the sun and fire.

Why does infrared feel hot?

It slams into our bodies and sometimes breaks molecules, but very little of it is converted into heat. The heat we feel from sunlight is infrared. So infrared feels hot because we sense it as heat, and because when we feel its heat, there is a lot of radiation, which makes up for its lower energy content.

Why do hot things emit infrared?

As an object gets hotter, the peak of its thermal radiation shifts to higher frequencies. The sun is hot enough that most of its thermal radiation is emitted as visible light and near infrared waves. Humans glow mostly in the infrared portion of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Why can't humans see infrared light?

The human eye can detect the visible spectrum of the electromagnetic spectrum — a range of wavelengths between 390 to 700 nanometers. ... Because infrared light has less energy than the colors we see in the visible spectrum, it can't activate photoreceptors in the eye.

Is infrared cancerous?

IR light may cause thermal injury even if you do not feel pain for certain types of IR light exposure. Hyperpigmentation, scaling, and telangiectasias (erythema ab igne) may occur from repeated IR exposures of elevated temperatures, even if the skin is not burned. Skin cancer is not expected from exposure to IR.

What do you feel when infrared radiation hits the skin?

infrared radiation is felt as heat and causes skin to burn; ... ultraviolet can damage skin cells and lead to skin cancer and damage to eyes; X-rays damage cells inside the body. They cause dangerous ionisation and when this happens with molecules in living cells, the genetic material of a cell, the DNA is damaged.