false color

American  

noun

1. photography using infrared-sensitive film that produces images in which heat-emitting areas or objects appear red.

---

Other Word Forms

• false-color adjective

Etymology

Origin of false color

First recorded in 1965–70

Example Sentences

Researchers then use false color to translate these otherwise-invisible wavelengths into a visible image.

From Scientific American • Nov. 8, 2023

Figure 22.5 Deinococcus radiodurans, visualized in this false color transmission electron micrograph, is a prokaryote that can tolerate very high doses of ionizing radiation.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

Scanning electron microscope image of modern pollen with false color added to distinguish plant species.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2017

But this contentment was too constant, too uniform, like false color on a woman's cheek.

From McClure's Magazine, Vol 31, No 2, June 1908 by Various

Her heart beat fast; a burning heat glowed in her as she thought of her false hair, her false color, her false dress, and saw the dear familiar face coming nearer and nearer.

From No Name by Collins, Wilkie