Study of Radiative Heat Transfer in Thermography or Thermal Imaging

Study of Radiative Heat Transfer in Thermography or Thermal Imaging

Radiative heat transfer is one of the three fundamental modes of heat transfer, the other two being conduction and convection. While conduction requires direct physical contact between materials and convection requires the movement of fluids such as air or water, radiative heat transfer is fundamentally different because it transfers energy through electromagnetic waves. This unique property allows heat to travel even through empty space, making radiation a very important phenomenon in both natural processes and industrial applications. Radiative heat transfer occurs through the emission and absorption of electromagnetic radiation. Every object with a temperature above absolute zero emits thermal radiation as a result of the motion of charged particles within its atoms and molecules. This radiation travels in the form of electromagnetic waves similar to visible light but much of the energy emitted by objects at normal temperatures lies in the infrared region of the electromagnetic spec…