Night Vision devices are Although are very easy to use, technical jargon makes their literature tricky to understand. Any night vision equipment will greatly improve your ability to see at night, but there are, of course, different grades of night vision goggles, night vision scopes, night vision binoculars, night vision and thermal imaging cameras from simple Gen 1 Night Vision monocular to an advanced Generation 3 Military Night vision goggles and rifle scopes. While various digital night vision systems as well thermal imaging cameras are becoming more available, the information about Night Vision presented below mostly focuses on the most common generally available Night vision technology - NV devices with various types of image intensifiers to convert weak light from the visible and near-infrared spectrum to visible light detectible by a human eye.
1. Night vision goggles capture and amplify the electromagnetic radiation that exists outside our natural range of vision. There are two types of night vision devices: Image Intensifiers and thermal imagers. However, thermal imaging is not commonly used in night vision goggles. The technology is still under development and primarily used on military vehicles and installations. Conventional night vision goggles work on scientific principles equally as complex. Engineers and scientists for the U.S. military have been developing this technology over the past 60 years.
2. Conventional night vision goggles do not work in absolute darkness. Image Intensifying devices use light amplification and require some available light to function. These devices increase visibility by amplifying the light from 2,500 to 5,000 times that of normal visual range. However, the image does not go straight to the eyes. It is first sent to the image intensifier, (often called the "third eye" of the goggles) where the image is turned green before being transmitted to the user's eyes. The signature green hue of night vision goggles is due to a change in the contrast. Humans can see the color green better than any other color of the visible spectrum. Green night vision helps the human eye distinguish objects and make out distances in dim situations.
3. Night vision goggles work on the basic principles of the photoelectric effect. The image intensifier amplifies the individual photons available in the light spectrum. A set of lenses on the goggles collect the light and focuses it onto a glass plate treated with photoelectric material. These photoelectrons then get accelerated through a channeling device called the photomultiplier. This channeling plate has several holes at its center which are only 10 microns in diameter. The surface of these holes are made of a conductive material that accelerates the potential difference of the photons. When the photoelectrons pass through the holes, the atoms ionize and cause more electrons to multiply by the thousands. This electron storm strikes a fluorescent screen and produces an amplified image for the human eye to see.
The first thing you probably think of when you see the words night vision is a spy or action movie you've seen, in which someone straps on a pair of night-vision goggles to find someone else in a dark building on a moonless night. And you may have wondered "Do those things really work? Can you actually see in the dark?"
The answer is most definitely yes. With the proper night-vision equipment, you can see a person standing over 200 yards (183 m) away on a moonless, cloudy night! Night vision can work in two very different ways, depending on the technology used.
This technology operates by capturing the upper portion of the infrared light spectrum, which is emitted as heat by objects instead of simply reflected as light. Hotter objects, such as warm bodies, emit more of this light than cooler objects like trees or buildings. are Although are very easy to use, technical jargon makes their literature tricky to understand. Any night vision equipment will greatly improve your ability to see at night, but there are, of course, different grades of night vision goggles, night vision scopes, night vision binoculars, night vision and thermal imaging cameras from simple Gen 1 Night Vision monocular to an advanced Generation 3 Military Night vision goggles and rifle scopes. While various digital night vision systems as well thermal imaging cameras are becoming more available, the information about Night Vision presented below mostly focuses on the most common generally available Night vision technology - NV devices with various types of image intensifiers to convert weak light from the visible and near-infrared spectrum to visible light detectible by a human eye.
1. Night vision goggles capture and amplify the electromagnetic radiation that exists outside our natural range of vision. There are two types of night vision devices: Image Intensifiers and thermal imagers. However, thermal imaging is not commonly used in night vision goggles. The technology is still under development and primarily used on military vehicles and installations. Conventional night vision goggles work on scientific principles equally as complex. Engineers and scientists for the U.S. military have been developing this technology over the past 60 years.
2. Conventional night vision goggles do not work in absolute darkness. Image Intensifying devices use light amplification and require some available light to function. These devices increase visibility by amplifying the light from 2,500 to 5,000 times that of normal visual range. However, the image does not go straight to the eyes. It is first sent to the image intensifier, (often called the "third eye" of the goggles) where the image is turned green before being transmitted to the user's eyes. The signature green hue of night vision goggles is due to a change in the contrast. Humans can see the color green better than any other color of the visible spectrum. Green night vision helps the human eye distinguish objects and make out distances in dim situations.
3. Night vision goggles work on the basic principles of the photoelectric effect. The image intensifier amplifies the individual photons available in the light spectrum. A set of lenses on the goggles collect the light and focuses it onto a glass plate treated with photoelectric material. These photoelectrons then get accelerated through a channeling device called the photomultiplier. This channeling plate has several holes at its center which are only 10 microns in diameter. The surface of these holes are made of a conductive material that accelerates the potential difference of the photons. When the photoelectrons pass through the holes, the atoms ionize and cause more electrons to multiply by the thousands. This electron storm strikes a fluorescent screen and produces an amplified image for the human eye to see.
The first thing you probably think of when you see the words night vision is a spy or action movie you've seen, in which someone straps on a pair of night-vision goggles to find someone else in a dark building on a moonless night. And you may have wondered "Do those things really work? Can you actually see in the dark?"
The answer is most definitely yes. With the proper night-vision equipment, you can see a person standing over 200 yards (183 m) away on a moonless, cloudy night! Night vision can work in two very different ways, depending on the technology used.
This technology operates by capturing the upper portion of the infrared light spectrum, which is emitted as heat by objects instead of simply reflected as light. Hotter objects, such as warm bodies, emit more of this light than cooler objects like trees or buildings.
