The role of night vision
Visible light at night is very weak, but infrared rays, which are invisible to the human eye, are abundant. Infrared night vision devices can help people observe, search, target and drive vehicles at night. Although people discovered infrared light very early, the development of infrared remote sensing technology is very slow due to the limitation of infrared components. It was not until 1940 that Germany developed lead sulfide and several infrared transmitting materials that the birth of infrared remote sensing instruments became possible. After that, Germany first developed several infrared detection instruments such as active infrared night vision devices. In an encounter with a British tank column, a German Panther tank equipped with an infrared sight device destroyed two British Firefly tanks in one fell swoop. It is worth mentioning that in this battle, the German army used an active infrared night vision device, so there was also an owl infrared searchlight vehicle that used infrared light to illuminate the Panther tank in the distance.
