Hot Vision - Affordances of Infrared Cameras in Investigating Thermal Phenomena

Oct 15, 2026

Study examines how infrared (IR) cameras function as “affordances” and semiotic resources when undergraduate students and instructors investigate thermodynamics in laboratory practice. Focuses on a salt exposed to air, comparing investigations with and without IR cameras and analyzing multimodal video data. Results indicate IR cameras support attention to disciplinarily relevant thermal aspects in both groups, but students’ interaction remains limited to cumulative, static use. Instructors engage in exploratory talk and spatial comparison.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages15

Reading Time38 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Purpose of the Study

Methods and Data Collection

Results and Findings

Discussion and Educational Implications

Samuelsson, C. R., et al. (2019). Hot Vision: Affordances of Infrared Cameras in Investigating Thermal Phenomena. Designs for Learning, 11(1),1–15. DOI: [https://doi](https://doi). org/10.16993/dfl.94 | RESEARCH
Hot Vision: Affordances of Infrared Cameras in Investigating Thermal Phenomena
Christopher Robin Samuelsson*, Maja Elmgren* and Jesper Haglund† | | --- | | Lab activities typically involve phenomena that are invisible to the naked eye. For example, in thermodynamics transfer of heat and temperature changes are perceived by the sense of touch or indirectly observed by the use of thermometers. New tools can be introduced to increase the opportunities for talking science. In this paper, we explore affordances and semiotic resources related to infrared (IR) cameras, including color imaging, numerical values and the form of the tool itself, as used by undergraduate students and instructors in chemistry, representing a scientific community at two different levels of expertise, in investigation of a thermal phenomenon. The participants come to attend to thermal aspects of what happens when a salt (sodium hydroxide) is exposed to air, with and without the use of IR cameras. Video data were gathered and transcribed multimodally. Results show that the IR cameras afford a focus on the disciplinarily relevant thermal aspects of the phenomenon in both groups of participants, but that the students’discussion, coordinated by their embodied engagement with the IR cameras, was limited to cumulative talk, where they do not challenge each other, and static use of the technology. This is contrasted with the instructors who shared their knowledge with each other and explored the phenomenon both spatially with the IR cameras, and verbally through exploratory talk. We suggest that this difference in the use of novel technology may be due to differences in experience of lab work and understanding of the studied phenomena, and that a shift between cumulative and exploratory talk may be an indicator of learning. | | Keywords: IR cameras; multimodality; social semiotics; physics education research; chemistry education research; laboratory practice | Introduction Hacking (1983, p. 186) quotes the poem In commendation of the microscope by 17th century writer Henry Powers, in arguing for the need to describe how technology widens the scope of what can be observed: ‘We ought to have some understanding of those astounding physical systems“by whose augmenting power we now see more/than all the world has ever done before”.’ This paper is a contribution to the emerging research field of visualization technology in science education (e.g. Linn & Eylon, 2011), in particular we deal with infrared (IR) cameras in learning thermodynamics (science concerning transfer and transformation of energy, fundamental for physics, chemistry and engineering) . In everyday life, we interact with thermal phenomena through the sense of touch. In the science practice, our senses are complemented by tools like thermometers, which give access to the phenomena in an indirect way (Hacking, 1983) . Now, the introduction of IR cameras * Uppsala University, SE † Karlstad University, SE Corresponding author: Christopher Robin Samuelsson ([robin.samuelsson@physics.uu.se](robin.samuelsson@physics.uu.se)) offers new ways of measuring and visualizing thermal phenomena (see Figure 1) . The image on the camera is displayed through different colors or nuances to show the temperature variation of the surfaces at which the IR camera is aimed. The temperature is indicated as a number in the corner of the display and colors and temperature are combined as a vertical scale, on the right side of the screen. The idea of using IR cameras for educational purposes emerged by the turn of the millennium (Vollmer, Möllmann, Pinno, & Karstädt, 2001) . In recent years, a number of IR-camera experiments for educational purposes have been suggested (Möllmann & Vollmer, 2007; Xie,

FAQs

What is the main focus of the study?

The study explores how IR cameras provide affordances and semiotic resources for investigating thermal phenomena in a lab setting.

How do students and instructors differ in using IR cameras?

IR cameras enable both groups to attend to thermal aspects, but students tend to engage in cumulative talk with static technology use, while instructors use exploratory talk and spatial plus verbal exploration.

What role does talk type play in the study’s interpretation of learning?

The paper suggests that shifting from cumulative to exploratory talk may indicate learning, linked to differences in experience and understanding of the phenomena.

Oct 15, 2026

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