Driver's vision enhancer and DRS Technologies. All objects above Absolute zero (−273.15 °C / −459.67 °F) emit infrared radiation (IR), an invisible form of light beyond the optical spectrum. The optical spectrum is part of the electromagnetic energy spectrum which consists of ultraviolet, visible, and near, middle, and far-infrared energy. Only a small part of the optical spectrum is visible to the unaided eye. The Sun emits energy across the entire electromagnetic spectrum. Solar energy strikes the surface of objects. Some of that energy is absorbed and stored as heat (thermal energy). After sunset, this thermal energy remains and is emitted in the
Ultraviolet some conditions, children and young adults can see ultraviolet down to wavelengths of about 310 nm. Near-UV radiation is visible to insects, some mammals, and birds. Small birds have a fourth color receptor for ultraviolet rays; this gives birds "true" UV vision. "Ultraviolet" means "beyond violet" (from Latin "ultra", "beyond"), violet being the color of the highest frequencies of visible light. Ultraviolet has a higher frequency than violet light. UV radiation was discovered in 1801 when the German physicist Johann Wilhelm Ritter observed that invisible rays just beyond the violet end of the visible spectrum darkened silver chloride-soaked paper more