Are Infrared Heating Pads a Scam?
Most recent answer: 11/03/2014
- Al (age 60)
Portland,OR,USA
Nice question.
Putting the objects in close proximity shouldn't shut down radiative heat transfer, although often simple conduction becomes more important.
I looked up the infrared absorption spectra of different types of tissue, given in this paper: . It does look like there are some frequency windows for which the infrared can penetrate several cm before being absorbed by the tissue.
Unfortunately, I don't really know how well those pads do at blocking short-range conduction and enhancing the deeper infrared heating. Nor do I know whether that's even a good thing to do. You could test how well it works using a chunk of meat and a meat thermometer inserted from the side opposite the pad. You could compare heating at various depths from the surface with similar measurements taken with a warm piece of metal rather than a fancy pad. Unfortunately, if it turns out the pads don't work I don't know how you could get your money back.
Mike W.
posted without vetting until Lee returns from the Serengeti
(published on 11/03/2014)