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> However, the capability to detect invisible multispectral infrared light with the naked eye is highly desirable. What would be some practical (or fun) uses o

> However, the capability to detect invisible multispectral infrared light with the naked eye is highly desirable. What would be some practical (or fun) uses of this?

drewbeck 1y ago
I love this line. The confidence! As if humans have of course wanted IR visibility for ever.
- kridsdale1 1y ago
  In the past, when armies faced each other on a front, activity halted at night. You gain a huge advantage if you can infiltrate to sabotage or assassinate the enemy camp in a way that you can see them but they can’t see you. See the Japanese foxhole assaults on various island fronts.
  - cryptonector 1y ago
    IIUC the contact lenses in TFA don't upconvert sufficiently long wavelength IR, so it's not going to be unaided night vision just quite yet.
    - LtdJorge 1y ago
      I think you'd just need a couple of IR sources, can be put in a headband like 2 flashlights, one on each side. Even if you don't see much, any improvements in pitch darkness would be great.
potato3732842 1y ago
Imagine being able to detect every situation where heat is a potential indicator of either problems or a system working as intended by simply looking at it. It would be a wildly valuable tool to any industry that does things. Currently such work is mostly done on a spot basis with IR temp guns and cameras. Imagine being able to see a failing conveyor bearing from across a facility or a low pressure tire as it rolls by.
- hollerith 1y ago
  But the OP is about near-infrared (NIR) light. Sensitive instruments for detecting NIR can only detect objects hotter than 440 deg F (according to an LLM I just consulted) and even then longer wavelengths are the preferred wavelengths for detection: NIR doesn't start becoming the preferred wavelength till the object gets up to at least 800 deg F. The sun emits tons of NIR, so if this tech has a practical application, I'm guessing it is in detecting objects outdoors during the daytime that look distinctive in NIR and do not look distinctive in visible light, e.g., maybe military hardware covered by fabric or camouflage netting.
  - potato3732842 1y ago
    >NIR doesn't start becoming the preferred wavelength till the object gets up to at least 800 deg F. My understanding is that due to the relative bell curve of emitted wavelengths a hot object should still look "funny" in the same way that a cherry red piece of iron still looks like iron, just different. Is that not true for NIR?
    - hollerith 1y ago
      I can't understand the question. But the spectrum of a hot object is not a bell curve. Specifically, there is a sharp cut-off such that there are basically no photons with wavelength below the cut-off. An incandescent light bulb of the type people used in houses in the 1980s and before for example produces a very small amount of UVA, but basically no UVB, UVC, x-rays or lower wavelengths.
kridsdale1 1y ago
Military use.
readthenotes1 1y ago
Better vision at night, or during cloudy or Dusty conditions. Every truck driver should have them. Every search&rescue or police officer should have them although I suspect for firefighters it might not help. I wouldn't at all be surprised if Mr money mustache can make a frugality case to wearing ir contact lenses instead of having lights on at night. Instead of splashing people with UV paint and using black lights, just party in the dark. As people age, one of the common complaints is the degradation of low light vision. This will help some. At least some hunters I know have night vision goggles for going after wild hogs. They could just wear the contacts...
deleted 1y ago
[deleted]
_aavaa_ 1y ago
This kind of tech will probably have better applications in custom imaging sensors. Instead of a standard bayer filter you have these applied as filters, letting you map NIR into the visible spectrum and then capturing it using standard silicon sensors. Though I believe quantum nano dots are already used there. The money will start pouring in if you can get this idea to work but with with thermal IR; those cameras are 2-3 decades behind visible light cameras because of the need for custom (non-silicon) sensors and tiny (by comparison) market.

> However, the capability to detect invisible multispectral infrared light with the naked eye is highly desirable. What would be some practical (or fun) uses of this?

drewbeck 1y ago

I love this line. The confidence! As if humans have of course wanted IR visibility for ever.

kridsdale1 1y ago
In the past, when armies faced each other on a front, activity halted at night. You gain a huge advantage if you can infiltrate to sabotage or assassinate the enemy camp in a way that you can see them but they can’t see you. See the Japanese foxhole assaults on various island fronts.
- cryptonector 1y ago
  IIUC the contact lenses in TFA don't upconvert sufficiently long wavelength IR, so it's not going to be unaided night vision just quite yet.
  - LtdJorge 1y ago
    I think you'd just need a couple of IR sources, can be put in a headband like 2 flashlights, one on each side. Even if you don't see much, any improvements in pitch darkness would be great.

potato3732842 1y ago

Imagine being able to detect every situation where heat is a potential indicator of either problems or a system working as intended by simply looking at it. It would be a wildly valuable tool to any industry that does things. Currently such work is mostly done on a spot basis with IR temp guns and cameras. Imagine being able to see a failing conveyor bearing from across a facility or a low pressure tire as it rolls by.

hollerith 1y ago
But the OP is about near-infrared (NIR) light. Sensitive instruments for detecting NIR can only detect objects hotter than 440 deg F (according to an LLM I just consulted) and even then longer wavelengths are the preferred wavelengths for detection: NIR doesn't start becoming the preferred wavelength till the object gets up to at least 800 deg F. The sun emits tons of NIR, so if this tech has a practical application, I'm guessing it is in detecting objects outdoors during the daytime that look distinctive in NIR and do not look distinctive in visible light, e.g., maybe military hardware covered by fabric or camouflage netting.
- potato3732842 1y ago
  >NIR doesn't start becoming the preferred wavelength till the object gets up to at least 800 deg F. My understanding is that due to the relative bell curve of emitted wavelengths a hot object should still look "funny" in the same way that a cherry red piece of iron still looks like iron, just different. Is that not true for NIR?
  - hollerith 1y ago
    I can't understand the question. But the spectrum of a hot object is not a bell curve. Specifically, there is a sharp cut-off such that there are basically no photons with wavelength below the cut-off. An incandescent light bulb of the type people used in houses in the 1980s and before for example produces a very small amount of UVA, but basically no UVB, UVC, x-rays or lower wavelengths.

kridsdale1 1y ago

Military use.

readthenotes1 1y ago

Better vision at night, or during cloudy or Dusty conditions. Every truck driver should have them. Every search&rescue or police officer should have them although I suspect for firefighters it might not help. I wouldn't at all be surprised if Mr money mustache can make a frugality case to wearing ir contact lenses instead of having lights on at night. Instead of splashing people with UV paint and using black lights, just party in the dark. As people age, one of the common complaints is the degradation of low light vision. This will help some. At least some hunters I know have night vision goggles for going after wild hogs. They could just wear the contacts...

deleted 1y ago

[deleted]

_aavaa_ 1y ago

This kind of tech will probably have better applications in custom imaging sensors. Instead of a standard bayer filter you have these applied as filters, letting you map NIR into the visible spectrum and then capturing it using standard silicon sensors. Though I believe quantum nano dots are already used there. The money will start pouring in if you can get this idea to work but with with thermal IR; those cameras are 2-3 decades behind visible light cameras because of the need for custom (non-silicon) sensors and tiny (by comparison) market.