spring watch last night

[steve s]

hi all on springwatch last night simon king filmed bats flying over water with a heat detecting camera .but if you look at the film again (on bbc i player) you can see the white dot (the bat )and a white dot (the bats reflection in the water)but a reflection doesn't generate heat so how did the camera pick it up ?

[BUSHWHACKER]

I didn't watch it, but did Kate show us her 'tits' again?

[steve s]

look on bbc i player almost at the end of the show

[MattF]

You sure it was heat and not night vision?

[steve s]

You sure it was heat and not night vision?

thay had two cameras night and heat SK had heat and you could see the reflaction that cant be right.cant seem to log on to the springwatch site to ask them about this will try again

[MudSurfer]

Does it really matter?

Surely Kate and her beaver are more interesting?

[Philip]

I had a thermal imaging camera and it does show up reflections, but can't remember why.

[steve s]

well i got an answer from the springwatch message board and its got sod all to do with kates tits or beaver .you pervs its all to do with the fact that the heat camera detects long wave infra red light and long wave ir reflects of the surface of water so the camera will see the reflection.

[Apache]

Tut! I was about to explain it all!

All heat is is longer wavelength 'light'. This is why skies are black in IR - cos the sky is VERY cold in IR - which brings us to why short range missiles use IR band for seekers - aircraft look hot against the sky.