Whether night vision goggles can see through walls involves several technical principles. Night vision goggles primarily rely on infrared technology or low-light enhancement technology to work, and the structure and material of the wall determine whether it can "see through" the wall. Below is a related technical analysis:
1. How Night Vision Goggles Work
Night vision goggles generally come in two main types:
Infrared Night Vision Goggles: These use an infrared light source (such as an infrared LED or laser) to illuminate the target area and then form an image by detecting the reflected infrared light. This type of night vision goggles is generally used in low-light environments, allowing people to see objects in the dark.
Low-Light Enhancement Night Vision Goggles: These form an image by enhancing weak ambient light (such as starlight or moonlight). This type of device does not require actively emitting a light source, making it difficult to detect.
2. Wall Transmittance
Walls are typically made of opaque materials such as brick, concrete, and drywall. Infrared light or other light rays are absorbed, scattered, or reflected when passing through these materials. Therefore, walls generally provide significant shielding against the light emitted by night vision goggles. Both brightening night vision devices and infrared night vision devices rely on light or infrared radiation reflected from the target area to function.
Specifically:
Infrared night vision devices: If the wall is completely opaque (e.g., a concrete wall), infrared light cannot penetrate it, making it impossible to see what's behind the wall. Only with very thin walls, or certain special materials (such as very thin wood panels or glass), might a small amount of infrared light penetrate, but this is usually insufficient to achieve "seeing through."
Brightening night vision devices: Because brightening night vision devices rely on weak external light sources (such as starlight or moonlight), and walls usually completely block these light sources, the device cannot see what's behind the wall.
3. Technologies for Seeing Through Walls
Night vision devices themselves cannot directly "see through" walls, but some special technologies can penetrate the surface of walls. For example: Seismic wave or ultrasonic imaging technology: This can penetrate certain building materials and detect the structure behind the wall by reflecting waves.
X-ray technology (X-rays, gamma rays, etc.): These rays can penetrate walls, but they typically require very high energy and pose a significant radiation risk, making them unsuitable for everyday use.
Radar technology (such as through-wall radar): Through-wall radar detects objects behind walls by reflecting signals. This technology is commonly used in security or military reconnaissance.
4. Conclusion Existing night vision devices (infrared night vision or light-enhancing night vision) cannot directly "see through" walls. They can see objects in low-light conditions by enhancing light or infrared reflection, but walls block the transmission of these signals. Achieving wall-penetrating capabilities requires other advanced imaging technologies, such as radar or X-ray technology, which are generally not within the scope of ordinary night vision devices.
If you are looking for an observation tool that can penetrate walls, through-wall radar or ultrasonic imaging technology might be a better choice, but the applications of these devices are typically limited to specialized fields such as military and law enforcement.
