Night Vision(译文).doc

Night Vision 夜视 During World War II, the use of radar by Allied forces to see through clouds and inclement weather was invaluable. This capability was literally the difference between losing and winning battles. Now, some 50 years later, optical devices are available that can see at night with such important advantages over radar as high spatial resolution (as good as ordinary eyesight) and lack of detectable radiation emanation. U.S. soldiers and fighting machines equipped with this night vision capability have had a unique tactical advantage in the post-World War II era. U.S. military forces have essentially owned the night and hence have been able to fight under most favorable conditions. 二次大战期间，盟军用雷达透过云层与暴风雨的恶劣天气观看的作用是无法估量的。这一能力的确是决定战斗输赢的因素。大约50年过去了，现在已能用光学器件在夜间观看，而且与雷达相比更有其重大优势，空间分辨率高（可如正常视力一样好），而却不会发出能被敌方探测的辐射。在第二次世界大战之后的年代里，配备有夜视能力的美国军人和战斗设施就因此而占据了无与伦比的战术优势。美国武装力量基本上“控制了夜晚”，从而能在最有利的条件下战斗。 Early night vision units amplified reflected starlight and demonstrated considerable tactical advantages. Battlefield night vision devices now use passive detection of IR, which senses the heat radiated from objects in the scene. The challenge is to discriminate objects such as tanks, which may be only a few degrees hotter than the background. Older devices produced images that resembled bad, noisy television signals; today, the devices have been improved to the level of quality television pictures. These devices, produced in large volume, have little in common with one-of-a-kind complex surveillance systems, although the underlying physical principles are the same. It should be noted that this is not all-weather capability since heat radiation is absorbed by rain and fog, imposing well-understood operational military limitations. 早期的夜视装置是将反射的星光放大而表现出相当大的战术优势。现在的战场夜视器件使用IR的被动探测，靠探测现场物体辐射出的热。这方面的困难在于区别诸如坦克这一类物体，因为这类物体可能只比背景热几度。老式器件生成的像很像质量很差的充满噪声的电视信号；而今器件已大为改进，影象质量已达优质电视画面的水平。这类器件是大批量生产的，一点都不像那些每一个都各不相同的复杂监视系统，虽然所依据的物理原理是一样的。应当指出，由于热辐射能被雨雾吸收，这类器件不是全天候的，因而如作军用就有很明确的限制。 Night