infrared radiation
4
4.2
- noun
- /ˌɪnfrəˈrɛd ˌreɪdiˈeɪʃən/
- Specialized
:
radiación infrarroja
- Is this entire room being blasted with infrared radiation right about now?
- emit infrared radiation
- outgoing infrared radiation
- trap infrared radiation
You know, like soldiers have those goggles that are sensitive to infrared radiation at night.
- You know, like soldiers have those goggles that are sensitive to infrared radiation at night.
Examples
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For global warming to be true, this must result in increased infrared radiation.
Blog text (16) -
So all that glass in the greenhouse traps the infrared radiation and that warms the air.
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Therefore, it made sense to search for infrared radiation from protostars.
Academic text (1991) -
You know, like soldiers have those goggles that are sensitive to infrared radiation at night.
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Nearly all their light is infrared radiation, so they were not discovered until sophisticated infrared instruments became available in the 1990s.
Academic text (2005) -
When molecules absorb infrared radiation, they vibrate.
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So some of the radiation is absorbed and warms the Earth and radiated back into space in the form of infrared radiation.
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The greenhouse effect, by trapping infrared radiation, can lower the albedo of the Earth and cause global warming.
Blog text (34) -
The balance between incoming solar radiation and outgoing infrared radiation determines to a significant degree the Earth's climate.
Academic text (1994) -
When Earth loses heat to space, it does so by emitting infrared radiation.
Synonyms
5
4.8
Light with waves longer than red light that you cannot see but feel as heat
5
4.0
Light you cannot see that often feels warm
1
4.4
A type of light you cannot see that makes things warm
Range of light waves longer than visible light that we feel as heat
Invisible light that warm things give off
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is a straightforward noun phrase where 'infrared' simply specifies the type of 'radiation' — radiation that lies in the infrared part of the spectrum. This compositional modifier+noun structure directly yields the meaning (electromagnetic radiation in the infrared range, often felt as heat) and is cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would grasp it.
Etymology
The term infrared radiation comes from the idea of rays just 'below' the color red, because the first part infra- means 'below', so these rays are just beyond the red light we can see. We cannot see infrared radiation, but we often feel it as 'heat', which is why thermal cameras and remote controls use it.