Cave entrance

[wreckee]

I'm told that by using a infrared film you can see the entrance to a cave that has been covered up by a slip etc... Due to the temperature difference of the soil or rock in front of the cave what would be the best time to take a photo of the area mid morning ? afternoon ? midnight ? This could change our national history with a bit of luck. ( PS not in the U.S ) :- Thanks , Nick.

[Siegfried Schlagrule]

You could try the early morning just at dawn or you could simply go there in the winter and search the spots that are not covered by snow or frost. The ambient air temperature of most caves ranges from 45 to 54 degrees. That would keep the surface at the entrance free from frost or light snow. If you must use IR film do it on a cold day when the contrast in temperature will be greatest. If you are working in the desert or really hot areas you can reverse the process and look for the cool spot in the middle of the hot area. Good Luck, SS

[peterfebb]

Hi Nick,
Sorry to pop the big bubble but infrared film sold for use in cameras is not sensitive to heat or temperature differences. This film was designed to image the "upper" wavelengths that are just below the visible range. You can show differential reflection of solar infrared light, but not the wavelengths that produce a temperature signature. The color film is actually "false color" remapping of the infrared sensitive layer to make it stand out from the background colors. A special filter is required when using this film, otherwise the resulting colored image is not very useful at all. Trees and vegetation appear red because the infrared light is reflected by the green leaves, which have no use for UV or IR... (plants need blue and red light, rejecting green and other wavelengths)

As a 40 vet caver, I can tell you that on a cold enough day, a cave will spew water vapor into the air from a 40 to 50 F passage and the moisture will often become visible as hoarfrost at the surface. Fly low and slow and look for what appear to be small "steam vents" issuing from the ground. This seems to work best when the temps drop below 0F.

On the NY-CT border is a small pit cave with a tiny entrance hole that spews enough warm air to thaw out your frozen hands...it was even named "Handwarmer Cave" back in the old days.

-pf

http://www.well.com/user/peter

[True_Metal]

Peter. Where is Handwarmer cave located? Is it near Danbury CT or thereabouts?

[peterfebb]

Handwarmer cave is just north of Millerton NY on the mountain ridge East of Rt 22.

The climb up is steep, and the trails are difficult to access due to private property.

[True_Metal]

Thanks, Peter. Would like to check it out beings im not far from Danbury in NY.

[jsan711]

OK guys this thread is interesting to me,but how do I search for cave opening signs on a tropical island where its never cold?The cave I am interested in was blown shut about 300 or 400 years ago,I don't have the money for GPS so skip that,the area is cover with small trees and other plant life.Anybody got a make shift way I could try?Joe

[Siegfried Schlagrule]

Hello Joe, Any infrared photo will show cold and hot spots. The rocks or dirt outside the cave entrance will be cooler than the rocks that aren't above the entrance. The IR photos I've seen show green or blue for cool ranging through yellow, orange and red for hot. In your case the blue and green would be what you want. Additionally the vegetation will change over the sealed cave. Either it will be lush or sparse. If the surrounding area is lush look for sparse. If sparse look for lush.Have you tried night vision goggles? exanimo, ss

[cedarratt]

I heard that htere was one in Penn that you can mine ice out of in the summer and makes steam in the winter. Anyone else heard of this?

[goldchuck]

If you think you can trust someone on your local police dept. you might acquire a loan of their infrared viewer if they have one. Our police have a pretty slick unit that will detect slight temp. differences. Also, there are pretty inexpensive game tracker devices used to search for fallen game by temp., sorry don't have brand names. Good Hunting.

Charlie

[Albert Osborn]

RE;CAVE ENTRANCE

Hello Nick,

If you think there is a cache inside the cave, I might be able to give you a general area of
the entrance.

Howso is my name and dowsing is my game

[cptbil]

I have one of them critters? :- , It's made by Amstech Company Called, AimShot and the model that I have is
The Heatseeker , Mod # HS3500B.
It will find/show, a one degree temp. difference at 300+ yyd
It comes with a laserlight/red beam to show you where the temp diff. is coming from!
Just go to the Aimshot website and check them out!
www.aimshot.com

[Detecting Fool]

Handwarmer cave is just north of Millerton NY on the mountain ridge East of Rt 22.

The climb up is steep, and the trails are difficult to access due to private property.

Odd, I grew up in Millerton, then moved across the border to Sharon and never heard of this cave.? Lived in the area for 31 of my 34 years.? Tell me more please.

Anthony

[peterfebb]

Handwarmer cave is not easy to find, but start climbing near Whitehouse Crossing. You are looking for a rock ledge with a small flat spot on top with a hole in it just large enough to stick your face into. If you find yourself walking on flat ground, you've gone too far!
-p