Question 11.AP.2: Thermal Radiation and Night Vision How can thermal radiation...

There are two methods of night vision, one enhancing a combination of very faint visible light and infrared light, and another using infrared light only. The latter is valuable for creating images in absolute darkness.
Because all objects above absolute zero emit thermal radiation due to the vibrations of their atoms, the infrared (invisible) light can be focused by a special lens and scanned by an array of infrared detector elements. These elements create a thermogram. The information from thousands of separate points in the field of view is converted to electrical impulses and translated by a microchip into a form suitable for display. Different temperature areas are assigned different colors, which can then be easily discerned on the display.