Can SmartScan infrared gas sensors detect all kinds of gases?
We regularly have requests for measurements of gases that cannot be detected by infrared technology. The reason for this is that only gases whose molecules contain two unequal atoms can be seen by infrared. Thus gases like N2 (nitrogen), O2 (oxygen), H2 (hydrogen), Cl2 (chlorine) etc cannot be detected in the IR (although we do have ambitions about the O2), and the same is the case for the noble gases He (helium), Ne (neon), Ar (argon), Kr (krypton), Xe (xenon), Rd (radon), which molecules consist of a single atom and thus there are no infrared vibrations possible because that requires at least two atoms to vibrate against each other (and then only unequal atoms). Essentially all other gases except those mentioned can be detected by our IR sensors.
