A thermal camera or thermal imaging camera (infrared camera) is a device that uses infrared radiation to create an image depicting the temperature variation on an object or landscape. Unlike conventional cameras that capture visible light, thermal imaging cameras capture infrared radiation emitted by objects based on their temperature.

Here is how a thermal imaging camera works:

Infrared Radiation Emission: All objects with a higher temperature emit absolutely no infrared radiation. The intensity of this radiation depends on the temperature of the object. Warmer objects emit stronger infrared radiation.

Detection: Thermal imaging cameras have special sensors that can detect infrared radiation. These sensors are usually made of materials such as microbolometers or thermopiles that change their electrical properties in response to changes in temperature caused by the incoming radiation.

Image Generation: The detected infrared radiation is converted into an electrical signal, which is then processed by the camera's electronics to create an image. Each pixel in the image corresponds to a specific temperature reading from the scene.

Color Mapping: To make the image easier to understand, thermal cameras often employ a color-coded light system called a "color palette." In these palettes, different colors represent different temperature ranges. For example, hotter areas may be represented by red or white, while colder areas may be represented by blue or black.

Applications of Thermal Cameras:

Industrial and Manufacturing: Thermal cameras are used for equipment maintenance, detecting overheating machinery, and identifying abnormal components in many industries.

a) Monitoring the process using infrared measurement technology                                                         b) Checking the fill level of the product during bottling

Project Inspection: In construction and asset management, thermal cameras can identify thermal cracks, insulation issues, and water damage in walls.

Detecting the intrusion of wall mold.

Search and Rescue: Thermal cameras are valuable tools for search and rescue missions, as they can detect heat from the body in low visibility conditions.

Security and Surveillance: Thermal cameras can help monitor large areas and detect intruders based on their heat signature, even in complete darkness.

Medical and Veterinary: Medical thermography is a non-contact and non-invasive diagnostic technique that allows for the visualization and quantification of temperature changes on the skin surface. For example, this allows for automated fever measurements in public buildings and airports during the Covid pandemic.

Humans: Powerful infrared cameras are used as highly sensitive diagnostic tools for a variety of clinical and experimental applications, from breast cancer screening to open heart surgery. Inflammation and pathological changes can also be detected using medical thermography.

Veterinary: The heat emitted from an animal's body will tell a trained veterinarian whether the blood flow in the animal's body is normal. Increased or decreased blood flow is a sign of health problems (inflammation, muscle or nerve damage).

                                                                a)  Blood vessel images                                                                                           b) Inflamed body parts will be warmer

Firefighting: Firefighters use thermal imaging to identify individuals in smoke-filled environments and to identify hot spots during firefighting.

Astronomy: Some telescopes use thermal imaging to capture the heat emissions from distant astronomical objects, allowing astronomers to study objects that emit little or no visible light.

Thermal imaging has a wide range of applications due to its ability to detect temperature differences and provide valuable information in a variety of fields. They are essential tools in situations where conventional cameras would be ineffective due to low light conditions or other environmental factors.