Means of measuring the visibility of objects through aerosol media

A new generation of visibility meters, called IF-173 and IF-173M, has been created. These are intended for estimating the visibility (the true, apparent, and threshold contrasts and the limiting ranges of visibility) of actual objects under field conditions, including through aerosol media, in the visible region of the spectrum. An IR visibility meter has been developed that makes it possible to determine the contrasts of objects, including threshold contrasts, in the near IR region. Results are given for laboratory and field studies, (C) 1999 The Optical Society of America. [S1070-9762(99)01007-6].