The visible light that we see every day is really a small portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. The electromagnetic spectrum includes all types of radiation ranging from the X-rays used at the hospitals, to radio waves used for communication.
What is Infrared Radiation?
Infrared radiation (IR), sometimes known as infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. Hence, it is undetectable by the human eye, although IR of wavelengths up to 1050 nanometers (nm)s from specially pulsed lasers can be seen by humans under certain conditions. Infrared light extends from the suggested red edge of the visible spectrum at 700 nanometers to 1 millimetre. Most of the thermal radiation emitted by objects near room temperature is infrared. As with all EMR, IR carries radiant energy and behaves both like a wave and like its quantum particle, the photon. Depending on the wavelength and frequency, infrared is commonly divided into five categories as near-wavelength, short-wavelength, mid-wavelength, long-wavelength and far-infrared.
