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Infrared lamps are electrical devices which emit
infrared Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around ...
radiation. Infrared lamps are commonly used in
radiant heating Radiant heating and cooling is a category of HVAC technologies that exchange heat by both convection and radiation with the environments they are designed to heat or cool. There are many subcategories of radiant heating and cooling, including: ...
for industrial processes and building heating. Infrared
LED A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (cor ...
s are used for communication over
optical fibers An optical fiber, or optical fibre in Commonwealth English, is a flexible, transparent fiber made by drawing glass (silica) or plastic to a diameter slightly thicker than that of a human hair. Optical fibers are used most often as a means ...
and in
remote control In electronics, a remote control (also known as a remote or clicker) is an electronic device used to operate another device from a distance, usually wirelessly. In consumer electronics, a remote control can be used to operate devices such as ...
devices. Infrared lamps are also used for some
night vision device A night-vision device (NVD), also known as a night optical/observation device (NOD), night-vision goggle (NVG), is an optoelectronic device that allows visualization of images in low levels of light, improving the user's night vision. The dev ...
s where visible light would be objectionable. Infrared lamp sources are used in certain scientific and industrial instrument for chemical analysis of liquids and gases; for example, the
pollutant A pollutant or novel entity is a substance or energy introduced into the environment that has undesired effects, or adversely affects the usefulness of a resource. These can be both naturally forming (i.e. minerals or extracted compounds like o ...
sulfur dioxide Sulfur dioxide (IUPAC-recommended spelling) or sulphur dioxide (traditional Commonwealth English) is the chemical compound with the formula . It is a toxic gas responsible for the odor of burnt matches. It is released naturally by volcanic activ ...
in air can be measured using its infrared absorption characteristics.


Types

Incandescent light bulb An incandescent light bulb, incandescent lamp or incandescent light globe is an electric light with a wire filament heated until it glows. The filament is enclosed in a glass bulb with a vacuum or inert gas to protect the filament from oxida ...
s use a
tungsten Tungsten, or wolfram, is a chemical element with the symbol W and atomic number 74. Tungsten is a rare metal found naturally on Earth almost exclusively as compounds with other elements. It was identified as a new element in 1781 and first isol ...
filament heated to high temperature to produce visible light and, necessarily, even more infrared radiation. Round bulbs, often tinted red to reduce visible light, provide infrared radiant heat suitable for warming of people or animals, but the power density available is low. The development of quartz halogen linear lamps allowed much higher power density up to 200 watts/inch of lamp (8 w/mm), useful for industrial heating, drying and processing applications.Raymond Kane, Heinz Sell (ed.) ''Revolution in Lamps: A Chronicle of 50 Years of Progress, Second Edition'', CRC Press, 2001 , Chapter 3 ''The T3 Quartz Infrared Lamp'') By adjusting the voltage applied to incandescent lamps, the spectrum of the radiated energy can be made to reduce visible light and emphasize infrared energy production. Different wavelengths of infrared radiation are differently absorbed by different materials. Some applications use the heat generated by the standard incandescent lamps, such as
incubator An incubator is anything that performs or facilitates various forms of incubation, and may refer to: Biology and medicine * Incubator (culture), a device used to grow and maintain microbiological cultures or cell cultures * Incubator (egg), a de ...
s, brooding boxes for poultry, heat lights for
reptile Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates ( lizards and snakes) and rhynchoce ...
tanks A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engin ...
, novelty lamps such as
lava lamp A lava lamp is a decorative lamp, invented in 1963 by British entrepreneur Edward Craven Walker, the founder of the lighting company Mathmos. It consists of a bolus of a special coloured wax mixture inside a glass vessel, the remainder of whi ...
s, and the
Easy-Bake Oven The Easy-Bake Oven is a working toy oven that Kenner introduced in 1963 and currently manufactured by Hasbro. The original toy used a pair of ordinary incandescent light bulbs as a heat source; current versions use a true heating element. Kenner ...
toy. Heat lamps may have a red coating to reduce the visible light emitted. Solid-state
light emitting diode A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (cor ...
s can be produced to be efficient sources of near-monochromatic infrared energy. Such sources can be rapidly
modulated In electronics and telecommunications, modulation is the process of varying one or more properties of a periodic waveform, called the ''carrier signal'', with a separate signal called the ''modulation signal'' that typically contains informatio ...
for communication systems and control signals. A light emitting diode can be closely coupled to an optical fiber, allowing infrared signals to be sent up to scores of kilometres without amplification.


Heating

Infrared heating uses infrared lamps, commonly called heat lamps, to transmit infrared radiation to the body that is being heated. When a body with a large surface area needs to be heated, an array of infrared lamps is often used. The lamp commonly contains an incandescent bulb that produces infrared radiation. Infrared lamps have many industrial applications including curing coatings and preparing plastic for forming, commercial applications such as cooking and browning food, and personal applications such as providing heat (especially in bathrooms and for pets).Calculation Example Infrared Heating -


Communication

IR data transmission is also employed in short-range communication among computer peripherals and
personal digital assistant A personal digital assistant (PDA), also known as a handheld PC, is a variety mobile device which functions as a personal information manager. PDAs have been mostly displaced by the widespread adoption of highly capable smartphones, in partic ...
s. These devices usually conform to standards published by
IrDA The Infrared Data Association (IrDA) is an industry-driven interest group that was founded in 1994 by around 50 companies. IrDA provides specifications for a complete set of protocols for wireless infrared communications, and the name "IrDA" also ...
, the Infrared Data Association. Remote controls and IrDA devices use infrared
light-emitting diode A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (cor ...
s (LEDs) to emit infrared radiation which is focused by a plastic
lens A lens is a transmissive optical device which focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements''), ...
into a narrow beam. The beam is
modulated In electronics and telecommunications, modulation is the process of varying one or more properties of a periodic waveform, called the ''carrier signal'', with a separate signal called the ''modulation signal'' that typically contains informatio ...
, i.e. switched on and off, to encode the
data In the pursuit of knowledge, data (; ) is a collection of discrete values that convey information, describing quantity, quality, fact, statistics, other basic units of meaning, or simply sequences of symbols that may be further interpreted. ...
. The receiver uses a
silicon Silicon is a chemical element with the symbol Si and atomic number 14. It is a hard, brittle crystalline solid with a blue-grey metallic luster, and is a tetravalent metalloid and semiconductor. It is a member of group 14 in the periodic tab ...
photodiode A photodiode is a light-sensitive semiconductor diode. It produces current when it absorbs photons. The package of a photodiode allows light (or infrared or ultraviolet radiation, or X-rays) to reach the sensitive part of the device. The packag ...
to convert the infrared radiation to an electric
current Currents, Current or The Current may refer to: Science and technology * Current (fluid), the flow of a liquid or a gas ** Air current, a flow of air ** Ocean current, a current in the ocean *** Rip current, a kind of water current ** Current (stre ...
. It responds only to the rapidly pulsing signal created by the transmitter, and filters out slowly changing infrared radiation from ambient light. Infrared communications are useful for indoor use in areas of high population density. IR does not penetrate walls and so does not interfere with other devices in adjoining rooms. Infrared is the most common way for
remote control In electronics, a remote control (also known as a remote or clicker) is an electronic device used to operate another device from a distance, usually wirelessly. In consumer electronics, a remote control can be used to operate devices such as ...
s to command appliances.


See also

* Infrared communications applications


References

{{Artificial light sources Types of lamp