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Understanding Infrared Thermography Reading 3

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As the path length increases to more than a few meters, or as the air<br />

becomes heavy with water vapor, atmospheric absorption may become a<br />

significant factor. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the infrared<br />

transmission characteristics of the atmosphere. Figure 1.10 illustrates the<br />

spectral transmission characteristics of a 10 m (33 ft) path of ground level<br />

atmosphere at a temperature of 25 °C (77 °F) and 50 percent humidity.<br />

It is immediately apparent that the atmosphere is not as transparent in the<br />

infrared ponion of the spectrum as it is in the visible ponion. Two spectral<br />

intervals have very high transmission. These are known as the 3 to 5 μm and<br />

the 8 to 14μm atmospheric windows, and almost all infrared sensing and<br />

imaging instruments are designed to operate in one of these two windows.<br />

The absorption segments shown in Figure 1.10 were formed by carbon<br />

dioxide and water vapor, which are two of the major constituents in air. For<br />

measurements through gaseous media other than atmosphere, it is<br />

necessary to investigate the transmission spectra of the medium before<br />

validating the measurements, which is explained in greater detail in Chapter 2.<br />

Charlie Chong/ Fion Zhang

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