Sunlight
The sun emits an enormous amount of energy, which could be harmful to human beings if not for the vapours and gases in the atmosphere, like water (clouds), ozone, and other vapours and gases in the air, through which the sunlight is filtered. In the figure it can well be seen that "cold" CO2 filters the solar radiation around 4.3 µm. The Infrared detector which uses this frequency is therefore solar blind. Not all manufacturers of flame detectors use sharp filters for the 4.3 µm radiation and thus still pick up quite an amount of sunlight. These cheap flame detectors are hardly usable for outdoor applications. Between 0.7 µm and approx. 3 µm there is relatively large absorption of sunlight. Hence, this frequency range is used for flame detection by a few flame detector manufacturers (in combination with other sensors like ultraviolet, visible light, or near infrared. The big economical advantage is, that no expensive sapphire detector windows but quartz windows can be applied. These electro-optical sensor combinations also enable the detection of none-hydrocarbons like hydrogen fires without the risk of false alarms, caused by artificial light or electrical welding.
Read more about this topic: Flame Detection
Famous quotes containing the word sunlight:
“Anton Petrovich turned into the passage, followed the arrow to men, mankind, human beings, marched past the toilet, past the kitchen, gave a start when a cat darted under his feet, quickened his step, reached the end of the passage, pushed open a door, and a shower of sunlight splashed his face.”
—Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977)
“Rearing three children is like growing a cactus, a gardenia, and a tubful of impatiens. Each needs varying amounts of water, sunlight and pruning. Were I to be absolutely fair, I would have to treat each child as if he or she were absolutely identical to the other siblings, and there would be no profit for anyone in that.”
—Phyllis Theroux, U.S. journalist. “On Being Fair,” Night Lights: Bedtime Stories for Parents in the Dark, Penguin (1987)
“Calm as that second summer which precedes
The first fall of the snow,
In the broad sunlight of heroic deeds,
The City bides the foe.”
—Henry Timrod (1828–1867)