Visualizing Chemistry with Infrared Imaging

Almost all chemical processes release or absorb heat. The heat flow in a chemical system reflects the process it is undergoing. By showing the temperature distribution dynamically, infrared (IR) imaging provides a salient visualization of the process. This paper presents a set of simple experiments based on IR imaging to demonstrate its enormous potential for chemistry education. As the prices of IR cameras have plummeted recently, it is now time to consider bringing this powerful tool to every chemistry classroom.