Thermal Science Question

[MarkLeupold]

So, this is gonna be a really dumb thread and it will serve no real purpose other than satisfying my curiosity.

I had a thought this morning while sitting on the shitter: could you feasibly detect if someone was carrying a concealed handgun from afar with a thermal device?

My thought process is something along the lines of: the handgun will probably be much closer to ambient conditions than body temp + the gun will block some of the body temperature being radiated, so a concealed gun may appear as a cool "shadow" on the hotter appearance of a person.

Like I said, really dumb thread, and only out of my own curiosity and the fact that I can ask guys that actually have thermal optics.

 

[308pirate]

I think the gun will be undetectable through a combination of body heat warming the gun and clothing serving as thermal insulation.

 

[TheHebrewHammer]

Depends on resolution of the detector, distance, thickness of clothing, material of gun, ambient temperature, sensitivity and wavelength of detector.

 

[FromMyColdDeadHand]

Now, interestingly, if you were looking in the near IR, past 700nm, you might be able to see through some thinner fabrics with colored with dyes that are usually IR tranparent- the old trick of using a Sony camera with ‘night shot‘ during the day to see through women’s clothing.

 

[TheHebrewHammer]

SWIR enters the chat

 

[TheOE800]

Easy way to find out: Go to the nearest international airport or high security federal site and see if they notice your heater.

 

[GreenMushroom]

With commonly available commercial devices not at a useful range. A lot of times you're doing good to determine if they're open carrying a rifle at any significant distance. Conditions play a big part in this.

70° and fairly dry with a cool breeze and metal items stand out well.

80° and raining and everything blobs together.

 

[MarkLeupold]

Very cool, thanks for the replies all!

 

[Rambo Sonny]

Depends on resolution of the detector, distance, thickness of clothing, material of gun, ambient temperature, sensitivity and wavelength of detector.

normally when you use a thermal scope, how long distance will you shoot?

 

[GreenMushroom]

normally when you use a thermal scope, how long distance will you shoot?

It would depend how far away from me you are.....