Night vision goggles are optical instruments, which allow images to be produced in low levels of light, nearing night. These instruments are usually used by law enforcement and military agencies and but are also used by civilians. These devices are different from binoculars though often confused with them.

Here are some things that are required if you want to know how to make night vision goggles. The image intensifier tube was the invention, which made the invention of night vision devices, including goggles possible. The image intensifier is a tube that is able to convert photons in to electrons and is able to amplify even minute quantities of light making it possible to see in the darkness.

The mechanism of the tube is that when the light enters the objective lens, it strikes a photo cathode, which also carries an energy charge. This charge travels through the intensifier to convert photons into electrons and then strikes a phosphor screen on which the image gets illuminated. It is the function of the ocular lenses on the goggles to help in focusing on the images.

There is another type of night vision googles too, which uses thermal imaging to make night vision possible. This kind of night vision goggles use the heat of electro-magnetic radiation, which is emitted by most objects, be they living or non-living. Because of this, thermal imaging night vision goggles are able to use these heat signatures in order to display an image of the object.

These night vision devices win over the light intensifier night vision goggles because of the fact that they require no light at all to be made active and can therefore be used in places where there is no light such as in hazes and fogs.

Now that you know about the elements that go into night vision goggles, you can try and see how to make night vision goggles of your own!

By: Ricky Lim