The below article consitutes a personal draft version of Multi-spectral camouflage, which shall be integrated and updated in the main namespace upon reaching a sufficient stage of completion.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cf/Marder_1A5_Mobile_Camouflage_System_Barracuda.jpg/300px-Marder_1A5_Mobile_Camouflage_System_Barracuda.jpg)
Multi-spectral camouflage is the use of techniques to conceal an object from detection by methods across several parts of the electromagnetic spectrum at once; while traditional camouflage attempts to hide an object in the visible spectrum, multi-spectral camouflage uses technologies that extend traditional camouflage techniques of crypsis (concealment) and mimicry (pretending to be something else) beyond the visible spectrum to hide the same object from detection methods in other electromagnetic ranges such as infrared, radar, and thermal imaging.[1][2]
Imaging spectra
editLight comparison[3] | |||||||
Name | Wavelength | Frequency (Hz) | Photon Energy (eV) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gamma ray | less than 0.01 nm | more than 10 EHz | 124 keV – 300+ GeV | ||||
X-Ray | 0.01 nm to 10 nm | 30 EHz – 30 PHz | 124 eV to 124 keV | ||||
Ultraviolet | 10 nm – 380 nm | 30 PHz – 790 THz | 3.3 eV to 124 eV | ||||
Visible | 380 nm – 700 nm | 790 THz – 430 THz | 1.7 eV – 3.3 eV | ||||
Infrared | 700 nm – 1 mm | 430 THz – 300 GHz | 1.24 meV – 1.7 eV | ||||
Microwave | 1 mm – 1 meter | 300 GHz – 300 MHz | 1.24 µeV – 1.24 meV | ||||
Radio | 1 mm – 100,000 km | 300 GHz – 3 Hz | 12.4 feV – 1.24 meV |
(( Table included from Infrared article ))
Modern techniques of military surveillance and detection encompass a number of different ranges of
Visible
editShip camouflage was occasionally used in ancient times. Vegetius wrote in the 4th century that "Venetian blue" (bluish-green, like the sea) was used for camouflage in the years 56–54 BC during the Gallic Wars, when Julius Caesar sent his scout ships to gather intelligence along the coast of Britain. The bluish-green scout ships carried sailors and marines dressed in the same colour.[4][5][6][7]
Infrared and near-infrared
editInfrared radiation has a longer wavelength than visible light, and includes most of the thermal radiation emitted by objects near room temperature. Devices working in this range include night-vision devices that amplify low quantities of ambient lighting in the near-infrared and short infrared ranges to produce an image, and heat-sensing devices that compare the heat radiating from an object against background radiation to produce a false-colour image of an object even in conditions where there is no ambient light.
Radar
editRadar uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio waves or microwaves which bounce off any object in their path, returning a tiny part of the wave's energy to a dish or antenna which is usually located at the same site as the transmitter. The radar cross-section
Applications
editMulti-spectral camouflage can be applied to individuals in the form of a ghillie suit, disguising the heat given off by the wearer's body, and to vehicles and buildings with either specialised paints or camouflage nets that reduce the amount of heat given off by a object, as well as altering the shape and size of its radar signature.[8][9][10][11][12]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Shabbir, Usman. "Highlights from IDEAS 2002". ACIG Special Reports. Air Combat Information Group. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
- ^ Mat for multispectral camouflage of objects and permanent constructions, Sep 1, 1981
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ignored (help). - ^ Nave, C.R. "The Electromagnetic Spectrum". HyperPhysics. Hosted by Georgia State University Department of Physics and Astronomy. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
- ^ Casson, Lionel (1995). Ships and Seamanship in the Ancient World. JHU Press. p. 235. ISBN 0-8018-5130-0.
- ^ Murphy, Robert Cushman (January 1917). "Marine camouflage". The Brooklyn Museum Quarterly. 4–6. Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences: 35–39.
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: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^ Sumner, Graham (2003). Roman Military Clothing: AD 200–400. Vol. 2. Osprey Publishing. p. 24. ISBN 1-84176-559-7.
- ^ Kaempffert, Waldemar (April 1919). "Fighting the U-Boat with Paint: How American and English artists taught sailors to dazzle the U-Boat". Popular Science Monthly. 94 (4). New York City: 17.
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: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^ "Anti Thermal IR Coating". Motley-Exim Co. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
- ^ "Winter Camouflage Nets". Saab Group. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
- ^ "Multispectral Camouflage for the Soldier System (SCI-096)". NATO RTO Task Group. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
- ^ "Camouflage net". BLÜCHER SYSTEMS®. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
- ^ "Multispectral Camouflage Nets". Raksha Supreme Camouflage. Retrieved 30 April 2013.