There is a lot of conflicting information regarding FIR. People who sell space heaters, saunas, and medical devices are all making claims that their product produces far infrared rays. Here, we will try to clarify and remove the confusion about infrared wavelengths and classifications. This will make it easier for you to make an informed decision when you get ready to purchase a product that produces far infrared rays.
First, we need to understand that the infrared spectrum is invisible to the human eye. Therefore, if you can see the ray, that is not infrared. There might be invisible rays combined with visible rays, however any ray you are able to see with your eyes is not infrared.
Every object including animals to minerals can radiate infrared as long as its temperature is over absolute zero. Infrared is produced from a campfire, a glowing heating element in a space heater, or the glow from simple light bulb. However, these either do not produce biological grade far infrared rays, or there are simply not enough far infrared rays to benefit the human body. To truly get concentrated far infrared rays, use specially designed products like the Crystal Rays Mats. Crystal Rays products in particular, are designed to emit the beneficial biological grade far infrared spectrum at high concentrations.
When researching about far infrared online, you need to be aware of a few things. First, there are no two organizations that define infrared the same. This does not mean that there is no true information regarding infrared out there; it means, rather, that you will have be diligent in your research and carefully read what is written.
The International Commission on Illumination (CIE) is one of the most well recognized organizations which define infrared as narrow wavelengths. Additionally, most white papers in the study of human or animals and infrared, show that FIR is the most active between 3-12 micrometers.
Please be aware that the CIE is not the only organization that defines Infrared. Others have defined infrared differently than the CIE. Examples include: the Astronomy division scheme, the ISO 20473 scheme, the Sensor response division scheme, and Telecommunication bands in the infrared – which could be controlling you television’s remote control.
The key to understanding infrared is the wavelength. So when reading websites, books, or clinical studies, the mere mention of infrared, far infrared, or mid infrared is not a true indicator of whether biologically active far infrared is being produced. (These terms are often used for sales, search engine, and metadata search results to drive traffic to their products.) You must know what wavelength is being produced and studied. For without the all-important wavelength data, it is impossible to know if you are looking at a product that produces biological grade, far infrared rays which can greatly benefit the human body.
NASA white papers define infrared differently than the CIE. NASA defines mid-infrared as 5 (25–40) µm, using the Astronomy division scheme. When contrasted with CIE standards, NASA’s definition of “Mid-Infrared” is clearly biological grade far infrared, not mid-infrared as shown earlier on our chart. So, which is correct? The truth is that both are correct. They both notify the reader of the wavelength they are using. It is the wavelength that is important, not the classification. When looking for biological grade infrared, realize that only a few inches or centimeters from the source defines this wavelength. When buying products that emit infrared rays, understand that wavelength defines what the device is able to deliver. However, there is much more to consider than just wavelengths. |
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