Brandon…
You are very close in your thinking process. Jason is correct in that this is explained a little more in Level 2. This is just something to show that there are real world challenges that require additional training to understand and to be able to reproduce.
Very good responses so far everyone.
You’re getting very close. When is glass opaque and when is it transmissive? I can see through glass but MY infrared imager cannot…
Scott am I correct that glass does not block but instead masks due to conduction which spreads out an even temperature which has the effect of acting as a shield.?
If I am correct than you are using a camera setting that is not using the normal Infra red detection setting and instead looking at a visible light spectrum that ignores heat.
Bob…I can’t answer your question without giving away how this was done. There is someone who is very close to solving this puzzle and I want to give them the opportunity of solving this on their own.
Just to give you a short answer though, the heat from the filament will warm the inside of the bulb which in turn does heat up the exterior. The glass will act as a conductor and a radiator at the same time.
The camera settings have very little to do with the way the images were produced. This is a strictly infrared picture and there is not a visible light component overlayed. The images have not been altered in any way using photoshop or a similar program. They were taken directly from the camera and saved as jpeg files.
I must commend the guys that have tried to figure this out. Some of your long thoughts fall short of the middle spectrum of answers. Do not try to over think what you are seeing or you will need more than whiskey or beer to cure the brain cramp
You are getting closer but no cigar:D:D;-)
If one can comprehend and understand the greenhouse effect (a real green house) and what occurs, then one will understand how the image was captured.
Thermal imaging ain’t so cut and dry is it? 
Is Infra Red the opposite of Ultra Violet?
The image sure is purple looking.
Hey Buddy how have you been you are very correct when the answer is finally revealed as simple as it is they will say why in the hell did I not think of that.
Hey Scott I did not need a hair cut when you started this thread now my hair is 4 inches long:shock:
No opposites in thermal wave lengths one might consider something from the old days like a clothes line with different types of clothes hanging in the order they were washed jeans in one area whites in another colored in another and so forth all in a straight line each in its own area.
Bob: if you are standing in the visible spectrum of light and look to your right, you will be looking at IR.
If you look to the left, you are looking at UV.
There is NO color in IR or UV.
Purple is the last thing you see before you go into the UV, as red is as you enter IR.
OK ,never knew that though I certainly associate them with those ends of the color spectrum.
I guess that means UV is actually invisible to the naked eye as is x rays ,etc.
Good correlation may be in hearing not being able to hear a dog whistle.
Ok…Time to let the cat out of the bag.
Brandon, you were getting really close to the answer in your thought process. Bob, you almost got it as well and which is pretty impressive for someone who hasn’t taken any training.
The images were taken with a Flir Prism DS camera which is a short wave camera, also referred to as a mid-wave camera. Modern cameras that are commercially available are typically long wave and detect between 7-14 microns. The camera used can detect down to 3.5 microns. This allows for imaging of highly reflective surfaces where a conventional uncooled microbolometer is going to get washed out.
The point to this exercise was to show that thermal imaging is not point and shoot technology and that it is important to know the science behind the tools that we use. If you try to look at reflective roof surface with a standard off the shelf uncooled microbolometer detector, you are not going to be able to see what is really going on under the roof covering. You will simply get images of reflections.
This was only a benchtop experiment to show an example of something that will come up in everyday work being a building inspector. Reflective surfaces are everywhere inside and outside of a building. Knowing the limitations of your camera and your ability to compensate for environmental conditions is paramount in calling yourself a thermographer and offering your services for hire.
If you have tried to replicate the images with your camera, you probably realized that thermal imaging is not point and shoot technology and there must be some science behind everything. This was something that you would come across as a building science or Level 1 thermographer, but probably wouldn’t understand until you got to the nuts and bolts of Level 2. This is where filters are discussed as well as reflectance, emissivity, and transmittance.
It was good to see that this got people to think a little outside of the box and put their thinking caps on. Some of the people who posted during this thread already knew what kind of camera it was and were just playing along to keep the thread alive and get some participation from everyone.
Good job everyone! It was interesting.
OK thanks for the information.
I am not trained but did have a Neon sign shop and as an artist tried to invent different ways of using light.
Among them was Luminescent powder that was developed for me by the guy who actually invented phosphorescent paints for the Army during world war 2.
I also tried fracturing fiber optic lines to use in conjunction with laser light in attempts to create bendable signage lines.
Using UV was experimental but I have no book training which I always saw as an advantage actually.
This was all during the early eighties.
Pretty damn close Condo for no IR Training at all…!!!
Thanks Dale however most of this IR stuff is to dry for me so I will stay out of it next time.
Your right, when things are dry or cool there may not be much interest or money to be made.
But… when objects are wet and/or hot, there is money to be made—
Then when you have an instrument like Scott has, well skies the limit—
With the limited training/exposure that most on this board take the time to indulge in be it controlled by their purse strings or simply lack of interest amazes me. If I was a younger person I can tell you this I would own every type of camera available on the market long wave, short wave, high temp range for boilers and for gas leak detection just to name a few and my business would be commercial thermal imaging $400.00 for a home inspection is simply chump change as to what stand alone IR offers
Trust me, I’m right there with you! I’m young and trying to do that very thing. If I’m not working than Im trying to learn what I can from who I can. It’s just not so easy. I’ve spent over $8k in training costs in the last year and I really feel like I ultimately set myself up for failure. I was exposed to some introductory training on some different types of larger commercial jobs, went out and marketed for some larger commercial jobs, than realized I fall way short of the training and support system to actually take on those type jobs.
I’d love to get experience and training on everything you mentioned but I can’t seem to find what I need. United Infrared is a great organization but paying $2-$3k for a 3-4 day class isn’t going to get me to where I need to be. Even if the classes were 7 days of class-room training, you need on the job training for commercial jobs and that’s harder to find than the actual paying jobs.
If your young and starting off in this business than the deck isn’t in your favor. The only options for training seem to be paying thousands and thousands of dollars to someone for this certificate or that certificate(sorta worthless when it comes to paying the bills).
The ability to go work with another commercial infrared thermographer for a week or two would be priceless. To be able to see a commercial job unfold from the original bid all the way down to collecting payment would be more helpful than 2 or 3 multiple day classes combined. In reality, everything in Level 1 and all the infrared training classes I’ve attended can be learned from simply reading the material. Preforming a hands own commercial job is what can’t be read or learned without actually doing it.
There’s a serious lack of quality training for those of us who do want to commit to the industry. Just my opinion though
Actually, that is right on the money!
Sound travels in waves as does light and light particles.
Depending on the receiver, you can control what you hear.
This chart is quickly viewed and dismissed as to what we see and don’t see.
If you break it down even more, you can see what the camera can and can not see.
Sometimes we need to filter out things we don’t want to see to better see what we do want to see.