Science Fair Projects
With Near Infrared Light

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This is the conclusion of the project which has been submitted to the Online Science Fair Contest, 2007, hosted by Super Science Fair Projects.

To see the beginning of Kendra's project, read about her science fair experiment with digital photography.

Conclusion

This lead me to believe that perhaps there were other factors contributing to the results. This could possibly have been the dye or the characteristics of the fabric itself like the density of the weave or the height of the pile.

I can see where this information on black fabrics can come in quite handy. Whether you're working outside or you’re wearing your sports uniform, the kind of fabric used can come into factor when out in the blazing sun. Through more research and fine tuning you could find a black soccer uniform that would reflect NIR energy from the sun, and that would have your team mates sweating less.

NIR photography could be used in more than just analyzing black fabrics. It could be used to test building materials to see which roof or brick reflects the most NIR rays. This could save on cooling costs here in Texas. It could even be used in law enforcement to see through those sunglasses.

What I Would Do Differently

To continue with this project, I would most definitely make sure I washed and ironed all my fabrics. I also think it might be interesting to compare different white fabrics. I could also test other materials using the same idea but on something other than fabrics--maybe roofing materials, brick, or paint. I could even take a look at skin color.

Bibliography

Brown, Stephen R. "Infrared Photography: The Invisible Made Visible." Photography... Publications...Graphics Management. Online. http://www.srbphoto.com/infrared/index.html. 5 November 2006.

Chong, Albert K. “Digital Near-Infrared Camera for 3D Spatial Data Capture.” School of Surveying, University of Otago–New Zealand. 29 November 2004. Online. http://www.business.otago.ac.nz/SIRC05/conferences/2004/01_chong.pdf. 10 December 2006.

Dorty, Paul. “Infrared Remote Control.” Science Explorations. Online. 7 May 2004. http://www.exo.net/~pauld/index.html. 10 December 2006.

Jelling, Jakob. “The Trick of Infrared Photography.” Snapjunky. Online. http://www.snapjunky.com. 17 November 2006.

Maher, Larry and Chris Berman. "The Shutterbug Magazine Article." Infrared Dreams. Online. 4 August 2006.

Module 10: Textiles: The "Science" of Fabric. Saskatchewan Education. Online. 2000. http://www.sasked.gov.sk.ca/docs/paa/clothing/mod10.html. 20 February 2007.

“Near Infrared and You.” Measure Vegetation Health. Online. http://mvh.sr.unh.edu/mvhinvestigations/near_ir_and_you.htm. 14 January 2007.

Olson, Andrew Ph.D. "Seeing Beyond the Visible: Photography with Near Infrared Illumination." Science Buddies. Online. 11 April 2006. http://www.sciencebuddies.org. 4 August 2006.

“Standing Wave Demonstration.” Introduction to the Ozone. Online. http://www.ucar.edu/learn/1_5_2_22t.htm 10 December 2006.

"The Infrared." NASA.. Online. http://imagers.gsfc.nasa.gov/ems/infrared.html. 5 November 2006.

"Understanding Color-Infrared Photographs." USGS Eastern Region Geography. Online. December, 2001. http://erg.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/factsheets/fs12901.html. 17 November 2006.