Infrared spectroscopy is the measurement of the interaction of infrared radiation with matter by absorption, emission, or reflection. It is used to study and identify chemical substances or functional groups in solid, liquid, or gaseous forms. It can be used to characterize new materials or identify and verify known and unknown samples. The method or technique of infrared spectroscopy is conducted with an instrument called an infrared spectrometer which produces an infrared spectrum. An IR spectrum can be visualized in a graph of infrared light absorbance on the vertical axis vs. frequency, wavenumber or wavelength on the horizontal axis. Typical units of wavenumber used in IR spectra are reciprocal centimeters, with the symbol cm−1. Units of IR wavelength are commonly given in micrometers, symbol μm, which are related to the wavenumber in a reciprocal way. A common laboratory instrument that uses this technique is a Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer. Two-dimensional IR is also possible as discussed below.
OVIRS instrument of the OSIRIS-REx probe is a visible and infrared spectrometer
US Food and Drug Administration scientist uses portable near infrared spectroscopy device to detect potentially illegal substances
Typical IR solution cell. The windows are CaF2.
Infrared is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than that of visible light but shorter than microwaves. The infrared spectral band begins with waves that are just longer than those of red light, the longest waves in the visible spectrum, so IR is invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to include wavelengths from around 750 nm to 1 mm. IR is commonly divided between longer-wavelength thermal IR, emitted from terrestrial sources, and shorter-wavelength IR or near-IR, part of the solar spectrum. Longer IR wavelengths (30–100 μm) are sometimes included as part of the terahertz radiation band. Almost all black-body radiation from objects near room temperature is in the IR band. As a form of electromagnetic radiation, IR carries energy and momentum, exerts radiation pressure, and has properties corresponding to both those of a wave and of a particle, the photon.
This pseudocolor infrared space telescope image has blue, green, and red corresponding to wavelengths of 3.4, 4.6, and 12 μm, respectively.
Active-infrared night vision: the camera illuminates the scene at infrared wavelengths invisible to the human eye. Despite a dark back-lit scene, active-infrared night vision delivers identifying details, as seen on the display monitor.
Thermography helped to determine the temperature profile of the Space Shuttle thermal protection system during re-entry.
Infrared light from the LED of a remote control as recorded by a digital camera