Infrared a wave and like its quantum particle, the photon. Infrared radiation was discovered in 1800 by astronomer Sir William Herschel, who discovered a type of invisible radiation in the spectrum lower in energy than red light, by means of its effect on a thermometer. Slightly more than half of the total energy from the Sun was eventually found to arrive on Earth in the form of infrared. The balance between absorbed and emitted infrared radiation has a critical effect on Earth's climate. Infrared radiation is emitted or absorbed by molecules when they change their rotational-vibrational movements. It excites vibrational modes
Invisible ink its intended use. For example, property marking should ideally be done with ink easily read under ultraviolet light, whereas in espionage such an ink would be considered too easily detectable since a large number of letters may be screened relatively quickly using UV light. Invisible inks are inherently "insecure" against a determined and well-equipped inspector, which must be balanced against the logistical difficulty in carrying out mass-screening of posted mail. It is easier to perform large-scale undetected screening of millions of electronic communications, than to mass-screen even a small fraction of conventional mail. Apart from in dictatorships where large numbers