EM Spectrum Research.

   This video gives a really interesting contrast between night vision and thermal imaging. This leads me to think that maybe I should steer away from night vision, and move more towards different wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum. Each wavelength will reveal something different that visible light can not.

 

The EM spectrum and photography: 

Radio - Largest wavelength. On Earth, radio waves are sent through the crust, and reach an antennae at another location. Radio waves can penetrate some stuff, but not everything, so they can give an image of what the waves can't penetrate. In space, radio telescopes can collect data from things that emit radio waves, and somehow, with lots of science and magic, create an image.

Radio image of galaxies from ALMA in the Chilean Andes.

  Microwave - I haven't been able to find much about this. However, it seems that microwave imaging is used in medicine, but may not be safe for humans. My understanding is that microwaves are shot at tissue, and are absorbed my the tissue at different lengths depending on what is present.  

Microwave image showing a mannequin with a concealed weapon.

  Infrared - This is a type of photography that will perceive heat rather than visible light. It includes night vision.


Visible - Cameras use visible light waves to create images just like our eyeballs.   Ultraviolet - Like black lights. Images are composed using the UV wavelength instead of visible light. It's similar to visible light photos, because they're next to each other on the spectrum and there is some overlapping.  

Sunscreen absorbs UV waves.

  X-Ray - Kind of life microwave imaging, in that x-rays are absorbed my different media at different lengths.

Typical X-Ray. Bone is denser than tissue so it shows up.   Gamma - Smallest wavelength. I think the nucleus of some element emits a gamma ray, and a special gamma camera can detect it.  

Gamma image of breast cancer tumor.  

I don't fully understand all the different EM frequencies, but they all show something different than visible light. I could use this to my advantage with this project.