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The night goggle optics used by many consumers today originally came to us via the US Army. The military is also responsible for some other things like the Internet, freeze dried food and the global positioning system just to name a few. But when it comes to night vision optics I’m not talking about the toys that your child might play with, but the Real McCoy.

In times gone by, fighting a battle in the dark was preferred to fighting one during daylight hours. Darkness gives a soldier a sense of stealth helping him to remain undetected until the moment of attack. History has shown that was not always easy because as you know the human eye does have its limits and making an attack under the cover of darkness wasn’t always effective with the light of the stars and moon often giving away a soldiers position. The Armed Forces have worked tirelessly for years researching many methods to boost a soldiers sight at night and thanks to their efforts the whole playing field of combat warfare has changed dramatically not to mention the many uses for this technology in the civilian world.

Night vision technology captures the available light using electro magnetic radiation that is outside the range of the human eye. Making use of this invisible light enables night goggles, binoculars and scopes the ability to see in the dark. At dusk and in low visibility conditions the night vision technology allows a soldier to see, maneuver and engage in combat.

Using light intensification and available light, the image intensifiers can amplify this light 2-5000 times greater than what the human eye see’s. This light intensification uses phosphorous screen technology (similar to that used in a TV)encased in an eye piece to give a soldier as close to normal vision as possible. When this eyepiece is in place, it makes it possible to amplify the images for much better clarity when viewing. The phosphorous monitor or screen is green in color. The human eye can recognize more levels of green than any other color in the visible spectrum allowing the soldier to see better in the dark.

There are many magnifications available for different lenses as well as different conditions and ranges. The range that this technology can be used varies depending on the application needed but a foot soldier would need a night goggle with a range from four hundred to within a few feet away from the enemy. Because the military has to think of the weight that a soldier has to carry it is possible for missions to be carried out without any illumination and by using only the image intensifiers. This keeps costs down with small, low power and lightweight sizes for easy transport.

The market today is flooded with many types of night technology and you can become overwhelmed when shopping for a device. There 2 common types typically used 1.Image intensifiers 2.Thermal devices. Thermal devices work by looking at and scanning the differences in temperature in the direction they are pointed at. Commonly refered to a sFLIR’s (Forward looking infrared).

A couple of things you should know if you do get a set of night vision goggles is you will experience a certain amount of tunnel vision because your peripheral vision is restricted within the eyepiece. As as long as you are moving continuously you are able detect your surroundings but judging distances will also be challenging and don’t expect 20/20 vision maybe 20/25 which still better than what you would see without assistance. Obviously this technology has helped the armed forces in their night time operations and the FLIR’s really do help in locating any thermal energy whether it be human or animal in many conditions and that is why this technology is used by surveillance and rescue personal alike not to mention the outdoors man as well.

John Caniwi is and avid outdoors man located in the Pacific Northwest. His interests include hunting and fishing as well as birdwatching and surfing. Modern technology like night goggles and night binoculars are something he takes advantage of on a regular basis.

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