Skip to content
HHackerTube.videoSurprise me

How Do Night Vision Goggles Work?

How Do Night Vision Goggles Work? on HackerTube: recommended by 2 Hacker News commenters across 2 separate months, 2023–2024.

Veritasium

explainer · evergreen

Open on YouTube

Veritasium visits the US Navy's Crane facility to test top night vision goggles. It explains how image intensifier tubes and thermal or digital systems work and compares the generations of the technology.

Why Hacker News recommends it

Commenters point to it as a clear explanation of the different types of night vision and why analog image intensifiers behave differently from digital ones.

people recommended it
2
separate months
2
strong recommendations
0
discussed on HN
2023–2024
“You will find Veritasium's video on night vision goggles [1] very interesting.”
— trash_cat, Dec 2023, in “An/PSQ-42”

What HN commenters said

5 Hacker News comments link this video. Each one links back to its thread.

alberthJun 2024Recommends

If you want to learn more ... Vertasium has a good video on the 3-different types of Night Vision. ▶ this video 1. image intensification 2. active illumination 3. thermal imaging

in “Night-vision lenses so thin and light that we can all see in the dark” · View on HN

trash_catDec 2023Recommends

You will find Veritasium's video on night vision goggles [1] very interesting. He explains well how they work, and the pros and cons of each implementation and generation. [1] ▶ this video

in “An/PSQ-42” · View on HN

fragmedeFeb 2024Cites it

▶ this video There are three types of night vision, and the consumer grade active illumination stuff using infrared light is covered by EAR (Department of Commerce’s Export Administration Regulations) instead of ITAR (which is still significant, but less strict). Which doesn't detract from your point, which is that night vision is hamstrung by regulations. With all the advances in technology, the consumer grade stuff should really be more accessible because it would save lives if drivers could see better in the dark.

in “Car insurance in America is too cheap” · View on HN

chillacyJan 2024Cites it

In case anyone else finds this interesting, the DOD has night vision goggles which have nearly-zero latency (all analog), amplify much better than digital cameras, and emit very little external light (hard to spot by adversaries). This veritasium video at 12:00 shows how these goggles work: ▶ this video That said I wouldn't be surprised if someone in the DOD was buying them for general tech exploration though.

in “Apple Vision Pro review: magic, until it's not” · View on HN

tivertDec 2023Cites it

I watched this video a month ago that might explain it: ▶ this video . Basically it said infrared goggles use digital processing, so there's at least one frame of lag for every image, which can cause those issues. Image intensifying googles are totally analog so there's no lag to avoid that issue.

in “An/PSQ-42” · View on HN

Topics & tags

Everyday physics & science demosMilitary history & warfareConsumer devices & gadgetsnight visionimage intensifierthermal imagingopticsmilitary technology