title: Infrared thermography: a graphic interpretation of exitance as a function of surface temperature, emittance, and background.
abstract: Calorimetrio and radiation balance equations for an object in thermal equilibrium with its environment are combined to yield a graphic interpretation of exitance as a function of surface temperature, emittance, and background factors. In a monochromatic image of a scene, errors in interpreting the same shade-of-gray as being isothermal are immediately apparent from the graph. Relative effects on exitance of fractional changes in the experimental variables, internal power dissipation through the surface and emittance of the surface are derived and illustrated graphically. Modifications of the simple model move toward real world imagery.
authors.affiliation: Bowling Green State University, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Bowling Green, Ohio 43403, USA.
authors.forename: E B
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Singleton