@sunpig

I really want one to look at ant colonies and see how they manage heat. Despite not being "warm blooded" they find ways to make their nests warm in winter and cooler in summer.

@futurebird @sunpig

You can probably buy a low-end IR camera, rather than renting one. They're not cheap, but they cost less than, say, a mid-range smartphone. When we moved house, I bought an earlier version of this:

https://www.idealo.co.uk/compare/4862822/flir-one-gen-3-for-android-435-0005-03.html

Predictably, I wanted to use it to find hot spots on the outside of the house and cold spots on the inside to help focus our insulation efforts.

Interpreting images is harder than I imagined, because the amount of IR radiated by an object depends on the nature of the surface and not only on its temperature. You'll be familiar with black-body radiation and the effect of an object's colour on the amount of heat it radiates, but there are other factors that I haven't fully got to grips with. If you just point the camera at your house and look for the yellowest part of the picture, it'll mislead you.

The camera I bought is not compatible with a modern phone. I'm tempted to buy a new one, because they're fun to play with. For instance, it would be interesting to see how much heat is generated, and how it's dissipated, when I charge the car overnight.