RE: Re: New HIE Problem (Lines) and Re: (fwd) Re: Isn't IR LED a n oxymoron?

[Theo Benson <TBenson@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

[Theo Benson]  The problem here is that we are mixing apples with oranges
(or photography with electronics and physics).

Diodes are electronic devices normally used to control the flow of current.
Diodes help turn AC into DC. Sometime in the 1960s, researchers discovered a
nifty fact: if you "dope" diodes with certain compounds, and run DC current
backwards through the diode, they emit photons. Now these photons can be
visible to us, or, as in the case of IR, not visible. It just depends upon
their wavelength. But they are still photons and that still means "light."
So it shouldn't really pose so much of a quandry that some L.E.D. (Iight
emitting diodes) emit IR. By the way, fhe first LASER (Light Amplification
by the Stimulated Emission of Radiation) emitted infrared light! 
 
If you wish further confusion (and who doesn't?) consider this: pure
ultraviolet light isn't visible to us, either! But it is visible to
honeybees, butterflies, and other insects.
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End of Infrared-Digest V0 #691
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