What is each used for?
In: Physics
Thermal vision sees light that the human eye cant see, which is emmited by warm objects. That is very useful when you are seeking a human or an animal but you dont know where they are, because their bodyheat makes them light up. Downside, it cannot see through glass and it erases any detail or features. You just see the shape.
Night vision multiplies the amount of light that is already there. That is why early nightvision devices were called starlight scopes. Modern night vision provides extremely clear picture. You can actually see thing like faces, read text etc. But camouflaged things (whether it be humans in camo or naturally camouflaged animals) are generally still camouglaged and thus hard to see under night vision. That is why hunters often have a handheld thermal unit that they use to find the animal but they take the actual shot under nightvision to see better and to be absolutely sure that it actually is the animal they are looking for.
Infrared vision. Both night vision and thermal vision devices are extremely expensive. Too expensive to be used in applications like security cameras. On the other hand, a floodlight attached to the camera would make it annoying and easy to spot. Lucky for you, camera electronics does actually pick up some wavelengths of light that the human eye cant see, namely infrared light. Only most cameras come with a filter on the lense because the infrared light would be visible on your photos and videos and it would look different that what you eye sees in real liffe. But for a security camera, you can get one without the filter and use an infrared light attached to it so that the camera can see at night without any visible light being emmited.
TL. DR.:
Thermal – sees heat
Night vision – sees regular light, only its much more sensitive than your eye
Infrared – basically a regular camera with a special light attached that you cant see but the camera can
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