___ show hotter temperatures as dark red and cooler temperatures are shades of blue.

• A. Thermal imagers
• B. Infrared imagers
• C. Temperature guns
• D. Specific software programs

Answer: (A)

Thermography uses a device that translates infrared energy into an image where temperature is shown by color. In this kind of visual map, hotter areas are highlighted with dark red and cooler areas with shades of blue, so you can quickly spot where things are unusually hot or cold. This makes it ideal for inspecting electrical panels, motors, insulation, and other systems where temperature differences reveal problems. A single-point temperature gun only gives one measurement at a single spot, so it can’t show how temperature varies across a surface. Software programs can display color maps if they have temperature data, but they don’t by themselves generate a thermographic image without a sensor. Infrared imagers do something similar, but the term thermal imager is the one that specifically emphasizes producing a full, color-coded temperature map.