(57) A detector of heat sources, capable of locating a forest fire from afar, even if
the fire is still in its early stages, and acting as a deterrent against attempted
arson, one of the most common causes of forest fires.
The proposed detector may also be used for defensive military purposes, as well as
for the protection of isolated buildings and installations.
It may be installed at a high point or (still better) suspended from an airborne balloon
(figure 1).
It consists of two polyhedral surfaces 4.1 and 4.3 (figure 4), one placed inside the
other. Each face of the outside surface is a converging lens 3.1 (figure 3), while
each face of the inside surface carries (at its center) a small photosensitive surface
4.2, which has some property that varies with the intensity of the incident radiation
(e.g. photoresistance 2a and 2b). This allows the creation of an image of the ambient
area by synthesizing the individual traces formed on the photosensitive surfaces,
in a way similar to that of a television image.
Finally, the detector will be equipped with television cameras sensitive to infrared
radiation, capable of taking pictures at nighttime and from afar. All data collected
will be controlled and processed by a computer installed at the observation post.
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