Thermal Imaging Chronicles (Part 1)

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As usual, the roots of all the important things in one way or another go to ancient Greece - thermal imaging in this situation is not an exception. Titus Lucretius Kar first suggested that there are some "heat" rays that are invisible to the human eye, but the matter has not reached further than speculative conclusions. They remembered the heat radiation in the era of the development of steam technology and the Swedish chemist Karl Scheele and the German physicist Johann Lambert were among the first to become first. The first in his work "Chemical treatise on air and fire" gave warmth to a whole chapter - this event happened in 1777 year and became the predecessor of the book "Pyrometry" written by Lambert two years later. Scientists have found out the straightness of the propagation of heat rays and determined, probably, the most important thing - their intensity decreases in inverse proportion to the square of the distance. But the most striking experience with the heat was done by Mark Auguste Pictet in 1790, when he set two concave mirrors against each other, and placed a heated ball at the focus of one. Measuring the temperature of the mirrors, Pictell found a surprising thing for that epoch - the mirror turned out to be warmer, the focus of which was the hot ball. The scientist went further and changed the heated body to a snowball - the situation turned exactly the opposite. Thus, the phenomenon of reflection of thermal radiation was discovered and the concept of “cold rays” was forever gone.


William Herschel (1738-1822) The English astronomer, the discoverer of infrared radiation. Source - en.wikipedia.org




The next significant person in stories thermal imaging became the discoverer of Uranus and his satellites English astronomer William Herschel. The scientist discovered in 1800 the existence of invisible rays, “possessing the greatest heating power,” located outside the human visible spectrum. He succeeded in this with the help of a glass prism, which decomposes light into its components, and a thermometer, which fixed the maximum temperature just to the right of the visible red light. As a follower of the corpuscular teachings of Newton, Herschel firmly believed in the identity of the light and radiant heat, however, after experiments with the refraction of invisible infrared rays, his faith was badly shaken. But in any history it does not do without the authoritative clever people from science, who spoil the picture with their false speculation. In this role was made by the physicist John Leslie from Edinburgh, who declared the existence of heated air, which, in fact, is the very "mythical heat rays." He was not too lazy to repeat the experiment by Herschel, he invented a special differential mercury thermometer for this, which recorded the maximum temperature just in the area of ​​the visible red spectrum. Herschel was declared almost a charlatan, pointing out the insufficient preparation of experiments and the falsity of conclusions.

However, time judged differently - by 1830-th year, numerous experiments by leading world scientists proved the existence of "rays named after Herschel", which Becquerel called infrared. The study of various bodies on the ability to transmit (or not transmit) such radiation led scientists to understand that the fluid that fills the eyeball absorbs the infrared spectrum. In general, it was precisely such a mistake of nature that created the need for the invention of a thermal imager. But in the XIX century, scientists only cognized the nature of heat-transfer and invisible radiation, going into all the nuances. It turned out that different sources of heat - a hot kettle, red-hot steel, an alcohol lamp - have a different quality composition of the “infrared pie”. It was experimentally proved by the Italian Machedonio Melloni with the help of one of the first heat registering devices - bismuth-antimony thermo-column (thermomultiplicateur). Interference of infrared radiation allowed to deal with this phenomenon - in 1847, with its help, the spectrum with a wavelength up to 1,94 μm was used for the first time.

Thermal Imaging Chronicles (Part 1)
Spider bolometer - thermal radiation recorder. Source - en.wikipedia.org


And in 1881, a bolometer came to the aid of experimental physics - one of the first devices for fixing radiant energy. This miracle was invented by the Swedish mathematician and physicist Adolf-Ferdinand Swanberg, setting an extremely thin blackened plate in the path of infrared radiation that can change its conductivity under the influence of heat. Such a radiation receiver made it possible to reach the maximum possible wavelength at that time to 5,3 μm, and by the year 1923, 420 μm were detected in the radiation of a small electric oscillator. The beginning of the 20th century is marked by the emergence of a mass of ideas relating to the practical implementation of the theoretical searches of previous decades. Thus, a photoresistor of thallium sulphide treated with oxygen (thallium oxysulfide), capable of changing its conductivity under the action of infrared rays, appears. German engineers created on their basis talloid receivers that have become a reliable means of communication on the battlefield. Until the 1942, the Wehrmacht managed to keep its system secret, capable of operating for a distance of up to 8 km, until they pierced at El Alamein. Evaporographs are the first true thermal imaging systems, allowing to obtain more or less satisfactory thermograms.


Evaporograph scheme. From the book "Fundamentals of Infrared Technology" Kozelkin V. V.


The device is as follows: a thin membrane with supersaturated vapors of alcohol, camphor or naphthalene is located in the chamber, and the temperature inside is such that the rate of evaporation of substances is equal to the rate of condensation. Such thermal equilibrium is violated by the optical system focusing the thermal image on the membrane, which leads to the acceleration of evaporation in the hottest areas - as a result, a thermal image is formed. The endless seconds in the evapororograph went to the formation of a picture, the contrast of which left much to be desired, the noise sometimes overshadowed everything, but there was nothing to say about the high-quality transmission of moving objects. Despite the good resolution of 10 degrees Celsius, the combination of minuses did not leave the evapororograph a place in mass production. However, the small-series EV-84 device appeared in the USSR, EVA in Germany, and experimental searches were also conducted in Cambridge. Since the 30s, semiconductors and their special relationships with the infrared spectrum have attracted the attention of engineers. Here the reins passed to the military, under whose leadership the first cooled lead sulfide-based photoresistors appeared. The idea that the lower the temperature of the receiver, the higher its sensitivity, was confirmed and the crystals in the thermal imagers began to freeze with solid carbon dioxide and liquid air. And the technology for spraying the sensitive layer in a vacuum, developed at the University of Prague, was already a very high tech for those pre-war years. Since 1934, the zero-generation electron-optical converter, better known as the “Canvas Cup”, became the progenitor of the mass of useful equipment - from night driving devices tanks to individual sniper sights.


The glass of Holst is the first electro-optical converter. Source - zodiak.uu.ru


An important place night vision received in the naval navy - ships gained the ability to navigate in complete darkness in the coastal zone, while maintaining a regime of blackout. In 1942, the fleet’s achievements in the field of night navigation and communication were borrowed by the air forces. In general, the British were the first to detect an airplane in the night sky by its infrared signature in 1937. The distance, of course, was modest - about 500 meters, but for that time it was an undoubted success. The closest to the thermal imager in the classical sense came in 1942, when a superconducting bolometer based on tantalum and antimony with cooling with liquid helium was obtained. German heat detectors "Donau-60" based on it made it possible to recognize large sea vessels at a distance of up to 30 km. Forty years became a kind of crossroads for thermal imaging technology - one path led to systems similar to television with mechanical scanning, and the second to infrared video recorders without scanning.

The history of domestic military thermal imaging technology dates back to the end of the 1960s, when work began at the Novosibirsk Instrument-Making Plant in the framework of the Evening and Evening-2 research projects. The theoretical part was supervised by the leading scientific research institute of applied physics in Moscow. The serial thermal imager did not work out then, but the developments were used in the research work “Lena”, the result of which was the first thermal imager for reconnaissance 1PN59, equipped with a photodetector “Lena FN”. 50 photosensitive elements (each 100x100 μm in size) were arranged in one row with 130 μm pitch and ensured the device operation in the medium wave (MWIR - Middle Wave Infrared) 3-5 μm spectral range with a target detection range up to 2000 m. Nitrogen-based gas mixture under high pressure entered the photoheater microheat exchanger, cooled it to -194,5OS and returned to the compressor. This is a feature of the devices of the first generation - high sensitivity required low temperatures. And the low temperatures required, in turn, large dimensions and impressive power consumption in 600 watts.

Installed 1PN59 on the domestic reconnaissance machine PRP-4 "Nard" using the BMP-1 base.


Intelligence machine PRP-4 "Nard" Source - cris9.armforc.ru


By 1982, domestic engineers decided to shift the working spectral range of thermal imaging devices to 8-14 µm (Long Wave Infrared long-wave LWIR) due to the better “throughput” of the thermal radiation atmosphere in this segment. The product under the symbol 1PN71 was the result of a similar design work in the direction of "Benefit-2", having as a "all-seeing eye" a photo-receiver from cadmium-mercury telluride (CdHgTe or КРТ).


Product 1PN71. Source - army-guide.com


They called this sensing element "Zero Gravity-64" and it had ... correctly, 64 crystal CMT of sizes 50х50 in increments of 100 μm. Freeze "Weightlessness" had even stronger - to-196,50С, but the weight and dimensions of the product decreased markedly. All this allowed to achieve long-sighted 1PN71 in 3000 meters and significantly improve the picture in front of the user. The imager was installed at the Deuterium PRP-4М mobile artillery reconnaissance point, which, in addition to the 1PN71 device, is armed with a night vision device, a radar and a laser range finder. A rare species in the Russian army - BRM-3 "Lynx" is also equipped with a thermal imaging device intelligence Novosibirsk instrument-making plant. To change this technique in the troops, the 1PN126 “Argus-AT” thermal imager, developed in 2005 by the Tochpribor Central Design Bureau and equipped with microscopic sensing elements of 30x30 micron size from the proven CdHgTe, is intended to be changed. A real highlight of the one hundred and twenty sixth thermal imager was a rotating octagonal germanium prism, transparent to infrared radiation. It is this scanner that generates two frames on a photodetector device in the registration mode of the thermal signature of the observed object in one revolution. For comparison - in 1PN71 this role was performed by a flat mirror - in the Soviet Union there were no inexpensive technologies for the production of germanium glasses. Under the new domestic thermal imager a reconnaissance platform of the front edge of the PDP-4А or, as it is often called, the “all-seeing eye of the god of war” was prepared. Bristled with numerous lenses of optical reconnaissance devices, the car is quite similar to the ancient Greek multi-eyed giant, after whom it was named.
  • Evgeny Fedorov
  • zodiak.uu.ru army-guide.com cris9.armforc.ru ru.wikipedia.org
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  1. +4
    8 March 2018 07: 22
    The mat is foam with foil ... It perfectly shields the radiation of the human body ... On the other hand, inflatable models are now equipped with sources of IF radiation ... The eternal struggle of the sword and armor ...
    1. +2
      8 March 2018 11: 49
      Quote: Vard
      The mat is foam with foil ... It perfectly shields the radiation of the human body ...

      Do not believe the tales!
      1. +1
        8 March 2018 12: 41
        Quote: combat192
        Do not believe the tales!

        Is it really much easier?

        https://ahprojects.com/projects/stealth-wear/
        1. +7
          8 March 2018 15: 47
          Quote: Spade
          Is it really much easier?

          Shovels, I would not trust advertising so blindly. It can save in the first minutes, and then the human body will warm the air layer and through intermolecular friction it will warm the tissue, with all that it implies. Here the man here also tried, only the air gap is larger and cools more.

          Then it is worth considering that the thermal imagers will greatly progress and it will only get worse.
          1. +2
            8 March 2018 16: 10
            Quote: KKND
            It can save in the first minutes, and then the human body will warm the air layer and through intermolecular friction it will warm the tissue, with all that it implies.

            You give the most simplified version. It just smacks of a direct comparison of Almaty with Abrams. Or Su-57 with F-22.
            I have a good monocular with the ability to observe in the IR range at a distance of up to 70 m. In simple mode, in complete darkness - at a distance of up to 200 m. So. When in winter, having melted a stove in a village house up to + 24 Celsius, he tried to determine the heat leak at temperature - 20 in the infrared range from the street, he found out that it was very difficult - there were too many “tint” factors.
            On the a photocited by you, well that's it too easy : a forest in a single temperature background, against which a person is trying to hide under a thermal cap.
            1. 0
              8 March 2018 16: 21
              Quote: stalkerwalker
              You give the most simplified version.

              I did not hold the thermal imager in my hands, so it’s not even an amateur.
              Quote: stalkerwalker
              In the photo you cited, well, everything is too simple: the forest is in a single temperature background, against which a person is trying to take cover under a thermal cap.

              Actually it video and it would not be bad if you looked at it before writing.
              Quote: stalkerwalker
              I have a good monocular with the ability to observe in the infrared range at a distance of up to 70 m.

              Cheto you have some kind of "weak ???" monocular.
              The gunners on the M1A1 boasted that the heat of Soviet cars was 3 km. have seen. 1991 Desert Storm.
              In general, specialists in thermograms would not be needed if
              Quote: stalkerwalker
              When in winter, having melted a stove in a village house up to + 24 Celsius, he tried to determine the heat leak at a temperature of -20 in the infrared range from the street, he found out that it was very difficult - there were too many “tinted” factors.
              1. +1
                8 March 2018 16: 25
                Quote: KKND
                Actually, this video would not be bad if you watched it before writing.

                Thanks for the tip. You are the very courtesy ...
                Quote: KKND
                I did not hold the thermal imager in my hands, so it’s not even an amateur.

                Quote: stalkerwalker
                I have a good monocular with the ability to observe in the IR range at a distance of up to 70 m. In simple mode, in complete darkness - at a distance of up to 200 m

                So what, with you, my dear, to discuss? What about the weakness of my monocular?
                Thank you.
                hi
                1. +2
                  8 March 2018 16: 28
                  Quote: stalkerwalker
                  So what, with you, my dear, to discuss? What about the weakness of my monocular?

                  When there is nothing to say, it is necessary to put pressure on the "authority", as old as the world.
                  And why should I even believe that you have enough money for the thermal imager, this is not a subscription to the site to pay.
                  Quote: stalkerwalker
                  Thank you.
                  1. 0
                    8 March 2018 16: 38
                    Do not despair ..... With whom does not happen ...
                    hi
                    Hawke sport optics
                    Avocet House, Wilford Bridge Road, Melton,
                    Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP12 1RB, UK
                    www.hawkeoptics.com
                    Tel: + 44 (0) 1394 387762 | Fax: + 44 (0) 1394 386255
                    1. 0
                      8 March 2018 17: 14
                      Which model is more detailed, please.
                      1. 0
                        8 March 2018 17: 17
                        Night Vision, Hawke Digi NV Monocular 5x40.
                      2. 0
                        8 March 2018 17: 20
                        Answered below. Lol
            2. +4
              8 March 2018 20: 06
              Quote: stalkerwalker
              When in winter, having melted a stove in a village house up to + 24 Celsius, he tried to determine the heat leak at a temperature of -20 in the infrared range from the street, he found out that it was very difficult - there were too many “tinted” factors.

              So take a normal thermal imager, preferably FLIR
              like this

              and believe me, you’ll see everything, and even with such a monstrous temperature difference (+20 --- -20) and even more so.

              Quote: stalkerwalker
              In the photo you cited, well, everything is too simple: the forest is in a single temperature background, against which a person is trying to take cover under a thermal cap.

              the interference is removed by simple adjustment of the difference of the upper - lower limit.
              Lenses change to far - near.
              The color scheme allows you to highlight in 7 shades.

              etc.
              1. 0
                8 March 2018 20: 10
                Quote: karish
                So take a normal thermal imager, preferably FLIR

                Thanks for the advice.
                hi
                In our country, such equipment is prohibited for free sale, i.e. impossible to buy it.
                Yes, and I do not need it to me - I have enough of my monovisor.
                1. +1
                  8 March 2018 20: 13
                  Quote: stalkerwalker
                  In our country, such equipment is prohibited for free sale, i.e. impossible to buy it.

                  Well, in general, we don’t have the same thing in free sale, it took us almost half a year to get approval and permission to buy.
                  1. +1
                    8 March 2018 20: 16
                    Quote: karish
                    Well, in general, we don’t have the same thing in free sale, it took us almost half a year to get approval and permission to buy.

                    I saw a similar thing in Norway - there the topic of heat leakage from private houses (and in such 50% of the population lives) is very relevant. So smart guys make good money - business is booming ....
                    1. 0
                      8 March 2018 20: 37
                      Quote: stalkerwalker
                      So smart guys make good money - business is booming ....

                      It also perfectly detects leaks in systems, homes, gas leaks - apart from its direct purpose (in my case), the remote determination of the temperatures of live parts under voltage.
                      1. +2
                        11 March 2018 16: 44
                        Quote: karish
                        Quote: stalkerwalker
                        So smart guys make good money - business is booming ....

                        It also perfectly detects leaks in systems, homes, gas leaks - apart from its direct purpose (in my case), the remote determination of the temperatures of live parts under voltage.

                        Hm. Strange, it took so long for you to agree. In my, well, not completely my case, it took 10 weeks to acquire a thermal imager specifically for observing transient contacts of 3 kV. After the etl laboratory stuttered. What is there especially secret? Yes, the thermal imager is French, acquired in the midst of sanctions, in mid-2016
            3. 0
              9 March 2018 15: 55
              Good monocular at what wavelength of the infrared range? Are ordinary glass pods monocular?
              1. 0
                9 March 2018 19: 26
                There is no such data in the manual ....
                1. 0
                  10 March 2018 09: 21
                  Medical IR sensors operating near 36 degrees Celsius usually have a maximum sensitivity at a wavelength of 10 μm. This wavelength does not pass through ordinary glass. Glass transmits radiation with a wavelength of not more than 3-5 microns. I suspect your monocle captures precisely this short-wave part of the IR spectrum - the necessary sensitivity at temperatures below 30 degrees is correspondingly very low!
                  1. +1
                    10 March 2018 10: 42
                    Verified in practice - with complete darkness (no moon, stars, no illumination from illuminated buildings) in simple mode, the device perfectly paints a picture of the area (at a distance of up to 200 m).
                    In the IR range under the same conditions (range limit - 70 m) at maximum sensitivity, the temperature picture is quite contrasting: from absolutely black (minus temperature) to bright white - heater parts heated to 300-350 degrees.
                    I will not exhibit a photo of a village house photographed from the street at - 25 on the street. Take a word - heat leaks are designated as dark spots in the form of structural parts (windows, doors), or in the form of cracks in the structures of a house - a lintel, joints of rafters and cladding.
                    The size and resolution of the display is very important.
                    1. +1
                      10 March 2018 10: 45
                      The device is very good. smile
                      1. +1
                        10 March 2018 10: 55
                        Thank you!
                        I am also satisfied .....
                        These things can be purchased at large international airports Duty Free. Prices start from 150 Euro.
          2. +1
            8 March 2018 16: 37
            Quote: KKND
            Shovels, I would not trust advertising so blindly. Maybe in the first minutes it will save

            And then it will be too late.
            It's not about chasing baboons.
  2. +4
    8 March 2018 08: 55
    Great article! Thanks to the author! I would like to see a sequel.
    1. +3
      8 March 2018 09: 02
      I wanted to learn more about modern matrices ... well, for example, microbolometric ones that do not require cooling.
  3. +11
    8 March 2018 10: 06
    8)))
    The thermal imager is not a child prodigy, whatever they invent in the west ...

    Well, take, for example, the "all-seeing eye of the god of war" (8)))) PRP-4A. A crew, for example, three enemy tanks has spotted. What's next? But then the problems begin.

    For target designation requires the coordinates of the target. Polar - range and angle. And if there are no problems with the angle, then with range, a complete blockage.
    Do not use a laser rangefinder. Even with perfect alignment between the thermal imager and the rangefinder, it is highly likely that it will give a range along some bush that is not visible in the thermal imager.
    I have to give a damn about disguise, cut the "night light" into the active range measurement mode, thereby "lighting up" myself in front of a bunch of people. Moreover, equipped not only with high-tech nightlights and thermal imagers, but also with the simplest means of observation like BI-8 binoculars with IR filters
    Another option is conjugate observation. But he needs at least two thermal imagers and well-trained calculations. And here, too, there are "pitfalls." For maximum accuracy, you need the largest possible "base", that is, the distance between two angle measuring devices. And the larger the base, the more difficult it is to coordinate the work of two points, the more difficult it is to target designation, the more difficult it is to ensure that two instruments are pointing at the same point on a target
    1. +10
      8 March 2018 11: 52
      Do not use a laser rangefinder.
      And also because it is guaranteed unmasking. My suggestions, over the past two years, known to me directors of enterprises, - go to the development of passive rangefinders based on the principles of stereometry, unfortunately, underestimating the capabilities of the method, do not meet with understanding. But there are modern principles that allow, in circumvention of apparent problems, to form a stereo base of several meters and even tens of meters. Imagine how accurate the measurement can be. I am still open for contacts with representatives of interested enterprises.
      1. +6
        8 March 2018 12: 37
        Quote: SHURUM-BURUM
        go to the development of passive rangefinders based on the principles of stereometry

        Et yes, stereometry is a thing. This is especially true for rangefinders installed on technology; it is much easier to ensure the accuracy of measurements.

        And it’s not even about unmasking, the problem is solved. The point is the uniqueness of the result. This is not a laser rangefinder, which often gives a group of ranges.
      2. 0
        8 March 2018 21: 27
        Such proposals are not new, technically feasible. The proposal to use the sights of various-class combat vehicles as points of sight for thirty years, or maybe more.
        The difficulty lies in the constant calculation of the current coordinates of the machines from which the sight is carried out. In the initial version, it was supposed to use inertial and Doppler methods of calculus, then satellite geospatial reference. Unfortunately, no method provides the accuracy necessary for the confident use of the means of use used on the battlefield.
        1. +1
          10 March 2018 09: 55
          use sights of different-flank combat vehicles as points of sight
          Respected combat192There is a more elegant solution. Therefore, I am trying to draw the attention of the military to this.
    2. 0
      8 March 2018 15: 54
      Quote: Spade
      Do not use a laser rangefinder. Even with perfect alignment between the thermal imager and the rangefinder, it is highly likely that it will give a range along some bush that is not visible in the thermal imager.
      I have to give a damn about disguise, cut the "night light" into the active range measurement mode,

      Sorry, but if there is no straight line to the target, you most likely will not be able to shoot either. It will appear here and measure the distance to the target with a laser.
      Interestingly, through parallax, you can estimate at least approximately the range? Plus or minus 300 meters?
      1. +1
        8 March 2018 16: 56
        Quote: KKND
        Sorry, but if there is no straight line to the target, you most likely will not be able to shoot either. It will appear here and measure the distance to the target with a laser.

        You probably have never worked with a laser rangefinder. The thing is very funny ...
        Go, for example, to the site of the Polyus Research Institute, see information on the latest laser rangefinder module LDM-2 ... And there suddenly "It provides a measurement of the range to the first, second or last (at the operator’s choice) target that hits the target of the laser beam."
        On the DAKs there is a block for selecting targets, on the LPR-buttons "Measure1" and "Measure-2" and a minimum range limiter ...
        In short, in order to correctly measure the range with a quantum rangefinder, the rangefinder must really see objects that could get into the beam of the beam and give the wrong range. This does not provide a thermal imager ...
    3. +1
      8 March 2018 19: 41
      Quote: Spade
      Do not use laser rangefinder

      Right! Therefore, ground-based radars are used. More problems?
      1. +2
        8 March 2018 19: 51
        Quote: combat192
        Correctly! Therefore, ground-based radars are used.

        8)))
        Also option 8))) Send a surveyor there asking "gentlemen, enemies, please ride some 500 meters so that we can spot you with a radar"
        I approve such ingenuity 8)))
        1. 0
          8 March 2018 20: 58
          For those on an armored train: ground-based reconnaissance radars are part of the equipment of all ground reconnaissance vehicles. As for the "ride", then modern radars allow you to identify fixed targets.
          And further. On reconnaissance vehicles, for this, a complex of reconnaissance aids is installed that is different in terms of physical principles of action in order to detect, recognize and determine the coordinates of targets with the degree of accuracy necessary for their destruction.
          1. +1
            8 March 2018 21: 34
            Quote: combat192
            Ground reconnaissance radars are part of the equipment of all ground reconnaissance vehicles.

            8)))
            Are you sure?
            Quote: combat192
            As for the "ride", then modern radars allow you to identify fixed targets.

            On PRP-4 costs 1RL133-1
            On PRP-4M costs 1RL133-1
            On PRP-4A costs 1L120-1
            Which of the listed stations, PSNR-5 "Credo" and PSNR-8 "Credo M1" can detect stationary targets?
            Right, not one of them. 8)))


            Quote: combat192
            And further. On reconnaissance vehicles, for this, a complex of reconnaissance aids is installed that is different in terms of physical principles of action in order to detect, recognize and determine the coordinates of targets with the degree of accuracy necessary for their destruction.

            These are all words. In real life at night, the only device that can do this is a nightlight, and only in active mode.
            1. +1
              8 March 2018 21: 40
              Quote: Spade
              These are all words. In real life at night, the only device that can do this is a nightlight, and only in active mode.

              Shovels, couch wars in "otak, Galaxy in danger."
              1. +1
                8 March 2018 21: 56
                It's just that people do not always critically evaluate advertising murders.

                Here it is, in relation to instrumental intelligence. On the one hand, it seems that everything is very simple, but in fact a bunch of pitfalls are appearing, as is the case with the PRP.
                In general, everyone prefers to work not from the car, but from the “takeaway”. A portable NP in some trenches. It is much more convenient.
                1. 0
                  8 March 2018 22: 02
                  Lopatov, the question is, do you actually detect a stationary target against the background of the Earth by radar? Are they all based on the Doppler effect? Maybe with a helicopter (rotating blades), and with a tank only possible?
                  1. +2
                    8 March 2018 22: 10
                    Quote: KKND
                    You have a question: can a radar really detect a motionless target against the background of the Earth?

                    Discrete frequency modulation, as in "Sobolyatnik"
                    A radar with a synthesized aperture in general can produce an image. They are mainly used in aviation and UAVs, but, for example, the Israelis are going to put such stations on "sapper" vehicles that detect roadside land mines.
                    1. +1
                      8 March 2018 22: 18
                      Quote: Spade
                      Discrete frequency modulation

                      I read it. Tin. Nothing is clear, but thanks anyway, I'll figure it out (maybe).
                      Shovels, figs. You do not work in Moscow? Such talent is lost. However, you have served yours.
                      1. +4
                        8 March 2018 22: 23
                        Quote: KKND
                        Shovels, figs. You do not work in Moscow? Such talent is lost.

                        Just the talents that in MO, for sitting on the forums and can get on the ears 8))))))))))))))))
                        10 years of execution in the neighborhood of polar bears, so that away from the Internet 8))))))))
            2. +1
              8 March 2018 21: 42
              Which of the following stations

              Any! It all depends on the operator’s training.
              Lopatov, maybe you are also a military intelligence officer?
              "Which regiment served?" (O. Bender)
              1. 0
                8 March 2018 21: 51
                Quote: combat192
                Any! It all depends on the operator’s training.

                That is, the Doppler effect in radars is not needed? what
              2. +1
                8 March 2018 22: 03
                Quote: combat192
                Any! It all depends on the operator’s training.

                ?
                Nothing depends on the operator. Special stations are needed here. Such as 1L227
              3. +1
                8 March 2018 22: 33
                Quote: combat192
                Lopatov, maybe you are also a military intelligence officer?

                Regarding instrumental intelligence, there is not much difference. In artillery, everything is just a little more complicated because of the accuracy requirements.
                Here, for example, is a decision maker. Intelligence is used "as is", and artillerymen are hung on a compass (there is a special fortification). Because in this case the directional measurement error is 3 times less.
                1. 0
                  8 March 2018 22: 48
                  How to say ... Military intelligence is simply obliged to give the means of destruction of the coordinates of targets for their destruction. This commander has enough information about the presence and nature of the enemy’s actions in the line of responsibility to make a decision.
                  Personally, I demanded from my subordinates the "firing" coordinates to reduce the time it took to generate data to open fire. However, as I was taught. Decision-makers without a busssole were used only "at the exit." At the NP only with a compass.
                  It was easier to work with aviation. They conduct additional exploration and determine the result of their application on their own. The main thing is not to hit you.
    4. 0
      8 March 2018 19: 55
      On tanks, a thermal imaging sight paired with a laser rangefinder works great.
      1. +3
        8 March 2018 20: 12
        Quote: combat192
        On tanks, a thermal imaging sight paired with a laser rangefinder works great.

        In ideal polygon conditions with cleaned directors? maybe
        1. 0
          8 March 2018 20: 32
          Shovels, are you a tankman? Or so on the couch?
          1. +5
            8 March 2018 20: 36
            No, my friend, I'm an artilleryman. Therefore, I have a rich practice of measuring ranges with a quantum rangefinder. Moreover, not only by purpose or local subjects, but also by breaks.
    5. +1
      8 March 2018 20: 11
      Quote: Spade
      For target designation requires the coordinates of the target. Polar - range and angle. And if there are no problems with the angle, then with range, a complete blockage.

      yes there is no problem, my camera gives not only GPS coordinates but also the distance to the object and this is a civilian version

      Quote: Spade
      Do not use a laser rangefinder. Even with perfect alignment between the thermal imager and the rangefinder, it is highly likely that it will give a range along some bush that is not visible in the thermal imager.

      it may be, of course, but I have never had such a skill
      True and the maximum distance that I measured - about 300m
      But knowing the civilian thermal imager. here is the picture
      1. 0
        8 March 2018 20: 20
        Quote: karish
        yes there is no problem, my camera gives not only GPS coordinates but also the distance to the object and this is a civilian version

        And what kind of camera?

        Quote: karish
        it may be, of course, but I have never had such a skill
        True and the maximum distance that I measured - about 300m

        When measuring at long ranges, the spot is quite large, therefore, not only the target itself catches, but also everything that is on the road, as well as everything that the target did not block.
  4. 0
    8 March 2018 11: 36
    Bulky and expensive thermal imagers in the MWIR and LWIR ranges, seeing the heat emitted by objects - exotic, suitable only for installation on military equipment.

    For low-cost and compact glasses, binoculars and night vision sights for foot soldiers, NVDs operating in the infrared range SWIR in parallel with ordinary optics are ideal. For them, enough background illumination from the night sky, covered with clouds.

    SWIR is our everything.
    1. 0
      8 March 2018 13: 20
      A system of counteraction to thermal imagers. Thermal imaging optics detection systems. We are lagging behind the production of thermal imaging arrays, let's develop counter systems.
      1. +1
        8 March 2018 19: 51
        The thermal imager does not emit, so detecting it is very problematic. It is possible to counteract only by reducing the thermal contrast of your equipment (personnel) or by giving them signs that, when detected, will characterize them as objects that are not subject to damage.
        In short, learn the basics of tactical disguise, everything has been described for a long time.
        1. +2
          8 March 2018 20: 10
          Quote: combat192
          The thermal imager does not emit, so detecting it is very problematic.

          At a time.
          Laser optics detection systems to help.

          Quote: combat192
          You can only counteract this by reducing thermal contrast.

          As well as laser systems for suppressing optics, creating aerosol curtains, creating false targets, creating fires on the lines of possible observation, blinding possible NPs with smoke or smoke ammunition ...
          1. 0
            8 March 2018 20: 16
            Laser systems for determination by Germany and others. Thermal imaging optics did not meet with us articles, who in the subject?
            1. +1
              8 March 2018 20: 33
              Quote: Azimut
              Laser systems for determination by Germany and others. Thermal imaging optics did not meet with us articles, who in the subject?

              At VO it was not like.
              There is a lens, you can detect. True, protection systems have already appeared, but they, among other things, quite significantly limit the capabilities of surveillance devices. By the way, such a system is installed on the Javelina launcher, and precisely on the thermal imaging channel. A daily optical is proposed to be completely closed. Although this is a pretty stupid idea, there are no filters on the GOS that prevent detection.
          2. 0
            8 March 2018 20: 48
            For those who are dull, I’m explaining: I deliberately did not list all the methods of counteracting various types of enemy reconnaissance, but focused only on passive, and even specified - tactical disguise.
            1. +3
              8 March 2018 21: 01
              Quote: combat192
              For those who are dull, I’m explaining: I deliberately did not list all the ways of counteracting various types of enemy intelligence,

              And what is not clear here? Your words:
              Quote: combat192
              Counteract can only by reducing the thermal contrast of their equipment (personnel) or giving them signs that, when detected, will characterize them as objects that are not subject to damage.

              And here you are snoozing.
              Lopatov, for your information, is not a sofa warrior.
          3. 0
            8 March 2018 21: 04
            Laser optics detection systems to help.

            Such systems work well against optical devices that have a solid optical axis with an aiming or rangefinder display. Detection of optoelectronic systems by them, to put it mildly, is very mediocre.
            1. 0
              8 March 2018 21: 36
              Quote: combat192
              Such systems work well against optical devices with a solid optical axis.

              For detection it is enough to have at least one lens.
              1. +1
                8 March 2018 21: 56
                I am writing that I saw. I had the opportunity to test two samples of the "anti-sniper", domestic and production of the likely enemy. Both confidently identify optics such as military binoculars and an optical sight. Worse - optics without meshes. But there were problems with the EIA. Let's just say the percentage of detection and recognition is less than 50.
                1. +1
                  8 March 2018 22: 20
                  Quote: combat192
                  and the production of a potential adversary.

                  ?
                  French people? It seems that no one else had such.
                  The Germans wanted a super cool detector of both optics and poisonous substances to put on their MUSS, which is on the Pumas, but in the end they cut the sturgeon. The Chinese seem to have put on their tank. And, actually, that's all.
                  The rest use either acoustics (Americans and adherents) or IR systems (Israel)

                  You may have used civilian “surveillance detectors”, but there you have your own nuances and your hardware requirements.
                  1. 0
                    8 March 2018 23: 03
                    American, and ours. They brought in "subcontractors." Manufacturers and brand, alas, I do not remember, 17 years have passed. Yes, and did not try to remember, because their entry into the army was not even planned then. Both devices could not be said to be portable, but transportable, to work “from the ground”. Dual-mode: scanning in a given sector and defeat after detection and pumping.
              2. +1
                8 March 2018 22: 34
                With laser systems for detecting optics - FSE: a microrelief is applied to the surface of an external lens in the form of a nanofold picket and the lens (transmitting light with some losses) ceases to reflect external radiation, including laser radiation.

                Externally, such a lens looks like a completely black body.
                1. 0
                  8 March 2018 22: 35
                  Quote: Operator
                  transmissive with some loss

                  This is a big problem. It hurts "some losses" are great.
                  1. 0
                    8 March 2018 22: 36
                    Losses of the order of 10%.
                    1. +1
                      8 March 2018 22: 42
                      Quote: Operator
                      Losses of the order of 10%.

                      This is a lot. And I think so, they will very quickly learn to overcome such an obstacle.
                      Do not forget where these systems come from. From espionage-counter espionage. And there such a "shell and armor fight" is going on that countermeasures appear very quickly 8)))
                      1. 0
                        8 March 2018 22: 55
                        Everything is simple - the power of the reflected light by the microrelief is such that it simply does not reach the sensors for detecting optics, being absorbed by air.

                        Of course, if the probe radiation will be generated by a powerful combat laser, then the sensors may be able to detect something, but it (an optical device, an operator) will already be shot by the beam of a combat laser by that time laughing
                2. 0
                  8 March 2018 22: 39
                  Quote: Operator
                  Externally, such a lens looks like a completely black body.

                  Rave. Such a scheme (of nanoparticles) should diffusely reflect light, but reflect,
                  rather than absorb completely.
                  1. 0
                    8 March 2018 22: 50
                    Quote: KKND
                    Delirium

                    The microrelief is a 100 percent analogue of fabric screens thrown by snipers at the optical sights of their rifles laughing
                    1. 0
                      8 March 2018 22: 54
                      You essentially answer me, absorbs or diffusely reflects, and if it absorbs, then due to what (interference, polarization)? A completely black body-body is absorbing radiation and if it is in front of the sight, then how does it transmit light (polarization?). I did not dig in this thread, please explain.
                      1. +1
                        8 March 2018 23: 03
                        The microrelief scatters the reflected light behind in all directions in a solid angle of 180 degrees, so the scanty part of the reflected light returns to the radiation source.
    2. +1
      8 March 2018 14: 00
      Quote: Operator
      For them, enough background illumination from the night sky, covered with clouds.

      Highlight is not a problem.
      Starting with lighting cartridges, shells, mines operating in the infrared range.
      Finishing highly-protected searchlight robots

      The issue is more organizational than technical.
      1. 0
        8 March 2018 17: 41
        SWIR requires lighting only in enclosed spaces.
        1. 0
          8 March 2018 17: 47
          Quote: Operator
          SWIR requires lighting only in enclosed spaces.

          For NVD, backlighting is never superfluous
          1. +1
            8 March 2018 23: 05
            SWIR in the open air provides visibility as during the day (and the picture in terms of detail is similar to the one that we see with our eyes without the use of devices). Do you use a flashlight during the day?
  5. +3
    8 March 2018 13: 14
    I recall the Predator
  6. +1
    8 March 2018 17: 19
    stalkerwalker,
    Lol, this is an infrared camera, not a thermal imager.
    1. 0
      8 March 2018 17: 22
      Did I say anything else?
      Quote: stalkerwalker
      I have a good monocular with the ability to observe in the infrared range at a distance of up to 70 m.
      1. 0
        8 March 2018 17: 23
        In general, an article about thermal imagers, specialist, you are ours.
        1. +1
          8 March 2018 17: 24
          Rodnenky .... You would have learned the principle of infrared radiation ....
          1. 0
            8 March 2018 17: 41
            Quote: stalkerwalker
            Rodnenky .... You would have learned the principle of infrared radiation ...

            Yes, if you had a principle, then such a Lola would certainly not have been.
            What is the difference between IR cameras and thermal imagers I know.
            1. +1
              8 March 2018 17: 42
              Quote: KKND
              What is the difference between IR cameras and thermal imagers I know.

              With what I congratulate you .... Since the 8 of March !!!!!
              1. +2
                8 March 2018 17: 44
                Quote: stalkerwalker
                With what I congratulate you .... Since the 8 of March !!!!!

                Yes, yes merged, went cheap trolling. It happens.
  7. +1
    8 March 2018 20: 20
    since the topic is interesting to me in some way, I would listen to smart colleagues. I am engaged in thin-film thermal insulation for 10 years, well, it is unlikely that anyone has not heard of this type of thermal insulation. Either in a very negative sense, fraud - and only vice versa - in the positive.
    I am a practitioner and not a theorist.
    Naturally, I see that the material is really working. On March 4, NTV showed the Miracle of Technology — I finally saw there, an empty experiment — 2 houses — one 50mm miniplate — another 1mm liquid miracle paint. Inside the thermometer, both showed after a while (see video) almost the same drop in T. The difference is a couple of tenths of a degree.
    so here. The thermal imager does not see this material.
    Why? Just don’t answer for the sake of God in the spirit of trolls - this can’t be, this is a hoax. I already did it, but practice shows the opposite.
    There is an application at the 2010s, how many navigations have been forgiven and in the spring delivery to the next vessel again (in total there are more than 10). It has been done while the three-shipyard is loaded up to 20 years.
    One of the applications is on Buyan-M (if it is not distorted), in Zelenodolsk, on a ship that is fired by Caliber. I’m not writing about other applications, so that they don’t think that I’m proposing something here. I don’t indicate the material, I don’t give addresses, it’s not advertising. But I really need an instrumental method of measuring T on such surfaces.
    For reference, a pyrometer calibrated for a blackbody set = 0.99 gives an error of up to 19%, thermocouples (in particular with nickel-koppel alloy) up to 37%, ITP (measurement of heat flow) are so capricious that they measure something you can only disperse T in the shift and wait for frost on the street .. what do you advise ..
    1. 0
      8 March 2018 20: 45
      Quote: nznz
      since the topic is interesting to me in some way, I would listen to smart colleagues.

      Quote: nznz
      Just do not answer for God's sake in the spirit of the trolls-this can not be, this is a hoax.

      And it’s unlikely to succeed in the spirit of trolls, there are only trolls (me too), except for Lopatov and a few more people.
      Quote: nznz
      The thermal imager does not see this material.

      A physicist is like a pilot hedgehog from me, so the only explanation I can give is the energy received by the film is not radiated in the infrared wavelength range, but in some other, ultraviolet, for example.
      1. 0
        13 March 2018 00: 39
        oh my god-what educated people didn’t throw slippers. Thank you.
        there is no conversion to ultraviolet.
        The principle of work is this.
        There are three channels of heat transfer-heat transfer, radiation and convection.
        Conventional materials suppress heat transfer. The notorious heat conductivity characterizes the ability of a material to transmit heat. It is similar to the amplitude in a harmonic signal.
        Thin-film extinguish an additional 2 others.
        The total set consists of the first set which is easy to measure and Gostirovany methods.2 other alas .. are not covered and they can be estimated so far only by a comparative method.
        When manufacturers claim that their materials have a total
        = 12 ten thousandth, shock and accusation of heresy. Because the usual k-t-2-4 hundredths.
        There is no way to prove instrumental.
        Indirectly please, but inconvenient. Well, for example, by measuring direct heat loss at the inlet of the pipe and after a kilometer or more. Normal thermal insulation and thin film are compared, but this method is not convenient.
        On NTV from March 04, there is a 33-minute experience with houses insulated with 50mm mineral wool and 1mm thin-film-the result-a miracle of technology is recognized-effective and works. For 10 years in the subject, for the first time, finally.

        thermal imagers do not see everything. Why, as it seems to me, they are based on the reception of infrared radiation
        and thin films in some way reflect this radiation without absorbing - the reflected signal shows that there is no material. In addition, for an equal measurement it is necessary to calibrate the thermal imager on the black body (for some thin-film materials it is 0.98-0.99. I don’t know if thermal imagers the ability to set a black body to the desired material. Not all at pyrometers. The pyrometer lies about 19% even calibrated to a black body set.
        these are the things. Thank you for your attention. The question is not simple ...
    2. 0
      8 March 2018 21: 14
      There is such a thing. Only here are the indicators of military thermal imagers for recognizing thermal contrast higher than those that are available on the free market and are used by hunters and rescue services. Therefore, it is impossible to completely hide an object whose temperature differs from the ambient temperature. In addition, signature databases of various targets in all radiation ranges are created.
      1. 0
        8 March 2018 21: 19
        Quote: combat192
        There is such a thing. Only here are the indicators of military thermal imagers for recognizing thermal contrast higher than those that are available on the free market and are used by hunters and rescue services. Therefore, it is impossible to completely hide an object whose temperature differs from the ambient temperature. In addition, signature databases of various targets in all radiation ranges are created.

        Sorry, you, how am I off the couch ?. Do the military still not catch x-rays? What are the bases in all emission ranges? What year is it in the yard? 2120?
        1. +1
          8 March 2018 22: 02
          Unfortunately I'm not off the couch. He served in intelligence quite a bit, only some 33 short years.
          In intelligence, working in the x-ray range on land, there is no POCA. This is for astronauts and pilots. And signature databases are created. You are apparently not up to date with modern developments.
          1. +1
            8 March 2018 22: 11
            Quote: combat192
            He served in intelligence quite a bit, only some 33 short years.

            You are sorry, but in my opinion, your messages (from my philistine point of view) look, so far, like fiction of the distant future. With Lopatov, I like to argue, and without any discounts on him and your "authority", his arguments, from my philistine point of view, look more convincing.
            For example, it would be nice if you explained from the point of view of the physics of the process how the optical system differs with a "grid" sighting and without, for the laser detection process, how to find a target with RADAR without the Doppler effect, etc.
            1. 0
              8 March 2018 22: 32
              Excuse me
              1. The differences in the detection of optical systems "with and without a grid" by special laser equipment are due to the peculiarities in the reflection of the emitted signal. For details, contact optical physicists.
              2. Any radar capable of determining the speed of a target works using the effect discovered by K. Dopler.
              The Doppler effect was mentioned by me, due to the fact that it is used by a speed and distance sensor, which works on the BRM-1k in conjunction with the TNA-3 “Square”.
              1. +1
                8 March 2018 22: 35
                Quote: combat192
                Excuse me

                Sorry, don’t get distracted by me, argue with Lopatov, he’s “smarter”, interesting conversation, I can only fight with patriotomy (they’re absolutely stupid).
                Your dispute with Lopatov should be constructive.
        2. 0
          13 March 2018 00: 43
          Nuya is not a super specialist in thermal imagers, but you had to watch how you work with a fly-color and a telephoto lens. Dear.
          Plus ITP used three sensors on the wall. And they dispersed T in the room to 30 degrees, at minus 10 on the street. And it also has a value - even the body of the operator influences the picture - according to the SNIP in the radius = 3m, there shouldn't be anyone left and then they quickly entered and measured .. it was not very convenient.
      2. 0
        13 March 2018 00: 51
        of course the imager produces a picture — he sees everything — besides what I would need.
        Those our material absorbs IR radiation slightly, reflects the way it arrived.
        And the system works on the difference in the incident and reflected signal (well, in radio technology, reflectometers work approximately in the microwave range)
        so it turns out, there is a big difference in T, and the hand easily determines, but the imager does not see a shish.
    3. 0
      10 March 2018 09: 28
      Specifically, which brand of thermal imager does not see? Ordinary Chinese with Ali-Express for 2 thousand rubles? There are different thermal imagers.
      1. 0
        13 March 2018 00: 46
        answered above. I took from colleagues along with engineers on thermal measurements.
        The device cost frenzied grandmas — FLY — it seems Amerovsky, I took a partner, I bought it to certify buildings — I wanted to earn money. As a result, it seems to me that I didn’t even beat off the grandmas to the device ..
        but they don’t see everything in principle ... there’s something general global, above I tried to describe the problem to the extent of poor heat generation .. but I don’t insist on my thoughts, I’ll listen and wait ..
  8. 0
    8 March 2018 22: 27
    Lopatov,
    I like the breadth of horizons in you, from air defense to DDOS attacks. Such people are also needed.
    1. 0
      8 March 2018 22: 34
      What to do, the range of professional interests was wide.
  9. 0
    8 March 2018 23: 06
    Operator,
    So I was right, we are talking about diffuse reflection. Then a completely black body has nothing to do with it.
    In general, I always thought that polarization in optics is used to hide from the laser ..
    1. 0
      9 March 2018 18: 16
      At night, for example, germanium optics can be determined, but when radiation is directed at it, diffuse sputtering is cool, but how they affect the transmission of infrared rays to the matrix. And what systems have we developed to detect thermal imaging equipment at night? Who will tell you.
  10. +1
    12 March 2018 17: 59
    The author, many thanks for the informative article. Sorry for the little scientific details. However, the article is educational.

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