Or was that Infrared (also known as IR) or indeed thermology

Thermography (Wikipedia defines: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermography)

Infrared (Wikipedia defines: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrared)

thermo-

Use thermo- in a Sentence a combining form meaning “heat,” “hot,” used in the formation of compound words: thermoplastic.

-graphy

Use –graphy in a Sentence a combining form denoting a science concerned with such a process: biography; choreography; geography; orthography; photography.

So, to keep it short and interesting thermography is useful in that we can use our thermal camera to capture thermal images, much like a digital “point & shoot” camera. The thermal image is then (normally) transferred to a computer for analysis. From there the image can be annotated with temperature tools to highlight issues and concerns. The image will then be incorporated into some form of report and that will show the temperature differences visually – usually by application of different colors so that we can “visually” see these temperature differences.

Sample thermographic images

Simple to use, thermographic cameras are sophisticated (and very expensive) image capture devices. They are capable of differentiating very small temperature variations. Differences in the order of 1/10 of a degree Fahrenheit are common. So being able to “see” these very small temperature differences makes thermographic cameras a great tool to locate problems with the following: