Learn how to build a simple DIY night vision device at home using a classic flashlight and polarizer sheets to emit infrared light visible through digital cameras.
Compared to some animals, humans see poorly at night and need special devices to see better in the dark. You may have seen the night vision devices that the military uses to see things as clearly as day in the dark, or those special TV episodes where cameras are fitted with night vision so they can capture the action even with insufficient light. Some night vision devices feature greenish displays, while certain video cameras display images in black and white. There are several ways to replicate these night vision devices using household items or inexpensive materials.
- Prepare a classic flashlight. There are various types of flashlights on the market today, such as LED flashlights or those fitted with extremely bright bulbs. However, for this project, we will use a classic flashlight with a regular incandescent bulb. You can use a small portable one or a larger one that resembles a searchlight.
- Acquire a few sheets of polarizers. You can find these plastic sheets on LCD screens, where they help create what you see on the display. Take, for instance, those old cell phones with black and green displays or digital watches. They all have LCD displays, and the thin plastic sheets on them help display numbers and letters. Find a few sheets from old LCD displays that are big enough to cover the flashlight's lens. Take four or five of these polarizer sheets and stack them on top of each other, crossing them so that the overlapping sheets turn black. Once the stacked sheets are completely blacked out, attach them over the flashlight's lens using transparent tape.
- Try out the night vision device. Now that your classic flashlight is fitted with polarizer sheets, you can start testing it. The light from the classic flashlight must not pass through the polarizer sheets. If you turn on the flashlight and physically cannot see any light coming from it, you have succeeded. Try looking at it again, this time through a video camera. Modern video cameras can pick up infrared light, which is what you have converted your classic flashlight into. If you cannot see the light emanating from the flashlight with your naked eyes, but you can see it through a digital video camera, the project is a success. By applying the polarizer sheets, you have turned the flashlight into an infrared flashlight; your eyes will not see the light, but the video camera will.
Wait until dark to test out your night vision device. In the dark, point your infrared flashlight anywhere and observe while looking through your digital video camera's display.
How to Make a DIY Night Vision Device
Learn how to build a simple DIY night vision device at home using a classic flashlight and polarizer sheets to emit infrared light visible through digital cameras.
Compared to some animals, humans see poorly at night and need special devices to see better in the dark. You may have seen the night vision devices that the military uses to see things as clearly as day in the dark, or those special TV episodes where cameras are fitted with night vision so they can capture the action even with insufficient light. Some night vision devices feature greenish displays, while certain video cameras display images in black and white. There are several ways to replicate these night vision devices using household items or inexpensive materials.
- Prepare a classic flashlight. There are various types of flashlights on the market today, such as LED flashlights or those fitted with extremely bright bulbs. However, for this project, we will use a classic flashlight with a regular incandescent bulb. You can use a small portable one or a larger one that resembles a searchlight.
- Acquire a few sheets of polarizers. You can find these plastic sheets on LCD screens, where they help create what you see on the display. Take, for instance, those old cell phones with black and green displays or digital watches. They all have LCD displays, and the thin plastic sheets on them help display numbers and letters. Find a few sheets from old LCD displays that are big enough to cover the flashlight's lens. Take four or five of these polarizer sheets and stack them on top of each other, crossing them so that the overlapping sheets turn black. Once the stacked sheets are completely blacked out, attach them over the flashlight's lens using transparent tape.
- Try out the night vision device. Now that your classic flashlight is fitted with polarizer sheets, you can start testing it. The light from the classic flashlight must not pass through the polarizer sheets. If you turn on the flashlight and physically cannot see any light coming from it, you have succeeded. Try looking at it again, this time through a video camera. Modern video cameras can pick up infrared light, which is what you have converted your classic flashlight into. If you cannot see the light emanating from the flashlight with your naked eyes, but you can see it through a digital video camera, the project is a success. By applying the polarizer sheets, you have turned the flashlight into an infrared flashlight; your eyes will not see the light, but the video camera will.
Wait until dark to test out your night vision device. In the dark, point your infrared flashlight anywhere and observe while looking through your digital video camera's display.
How to Make a DIY Night Vision Device
By Howtodotips
Learn how to build a simple DIY night vision device at home using a classic flashlight and polarizer sheets to emit infrared light visible through digital cameras.