Would night vision goggles still work in ABSOLUTE darkness?

Question

Would night vision goggles still work in ABSOLUTE darkness?

Answer 1

No, if there is there is light to be amplified, nothing can be seen.

Answer 2

Most, if not all, night vision goggles work at a wavelength of around 1 micron, which is a near infrared wavelength.  Objects around room temperature don't emit enough light at these wavelengths to be seen in the near infrared.  The peak emission is about 3000K/T microns -- in other words an object at 300 Kelvin (room temp) emits most light around 10 microns -- and vecry little at 1 micron.

So, most NVS need some low levels of light to work.  They work by amplifying the existing light, and also by amplifying and displaying light that would normally be outside of the wavelength range seen by the human eye.  So, it might look totally dark to a person, but the NV system can see some light (due to scattered starlight, moonlight, etc).  

Also, most modern systems have the option to bring your own illumination -- an IR LED that can illuminate the scene to anyone using NV goggles but still remain undetected by he naked eye.  Of course the drawback is that the range of an active system will be limited to the range of the LED, and also you become quite visible to anyone else using NVS.

The other option for seeing in "total darkness" is a thermal imager, or FLIR type system, though in general these are not goggle systems but have a computer screen display.   Depending on system these can work in the mid to long infrared, which can detect heat from human bodies, see through smoke, etc.

One other comment ... you asked about absolute darkness, but since all objects that are above absolute zero temperatire emit infrared, and since we have not found any way to get objects down to absolute zero, then there is really no such thing as absolute darkness.  There will always be light emitted from your surroundings.

Answer 3

depends upon the type of goggles.  some goggles amplify the light of moon stars or other sources of light in the night and use for vision . in absloute darkness they wont work. but if the goggles use thermal vision then they will work... some night vision use active infrared ie they have infrared illuminators which help them see in complete darkness.

Answer 4

Sure, if they amplifed infrared light.  Warm things give off infrared light.

Answer 5

Night vision goggles do not detect visible light, but infrared light.  In absolute darkness, there is no energy, i.e. no light -- including infrared light.  So no, night vision goggles would not work in absolute darkness.