Thermal imaging cameras, which allow you to see the temperature of an object or person, can be expensive. As interesting and cool as they are, it's difficult to justify buying a Predator-vision device for your entertainment at that price. Fortunately, there's a cheaper, if much slower, way to visualise the temperature of objects.
You'll need a non-contact temperature sensor, such as the Black & Decker TLD100 thermal leak detector (about £30), that projects a coloured light corresponding to the temperature observed; a DSLR camera with manual shutter-time control; and a tripod. And, of course, a suitably still subject to "temperature-paint" with light.
You'll need about 30 seconds to produce each thermal image. Because of this, the area will need to be dark enough to expose your image sensor for that long, and should contain objects at low and high temperatures relative to each other. A window, stove, or even a sleeping animal can make an interesting subject.
With your camera mounted on a tripod, open up the shutter, and slowly sweep the area in the camera's view with your infrared sensor. As the observed temperature changes, the light will change as well, affecting the colour that your camera records. You may have to experiment with camera settings and how fast you sweep the area.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
