Infrared thermometers offer a great method for accurately and quickly measuring temperature of objects at a distance and/or in motion. They offer the ability to measure temperature of objects precisely without needing to touch the item being measured, and without needing to be placed within what can be an extremely hot and dangerous environment (where most traditional close proximity thermometers will be destroyed). This is an image of a specialized industrial infrared thermometer being used to monitor temperature of molten material (such as metal or glass) at a distance, for quality control purposes within a manufacturing process. Portable, battery-operated devices using similar technology are also available on the market.

Infrared thermometers measure temperature using blackbody radiation (generally infrared) emitted from objects. They are sometimes called laser thermometers if a laser is used to help aim the thermometer, or non-contact thermometers to describe the device’s ability to measure temperature from a distance. By knowing the amount of infrared energy emitted by the object and its emissivity, the objects temperature can be determined. Image File history File links IR_Thermometer_Sm. ... Image File history File links IR_Thermometer_Sm. ... Temperature is also the name of a song by Sean Paul. ... As the temperature decreases, the peak of the black body radiation curve moves to lower intensities and longer wavelengths. ... Image of a small dog taken in mid-infrared (thermal) light (false color) Infrared (IR) radiation is electromagnetic radiation of a wavelength longer than that of visible light, but shorter than that of radio waves. ... Lasers range in size from microscopic diode lasers (top) with numerous applications, to football field sized neodymium glass lasers (bottom) used for inertial confinement fusion, nuclear weapons research and other high energy density physics experiments. ... The emissivity of a material (usually written ) is the ratio of energy radiated to energy radiated by a black body at the same temperature. ...

The most basic design consists of a lens to focus the infrared energy on to a detector, which converts the energy to an electrical signal that can be displayed in units of temperature after being compensated for ambient temperature variation. This configuration facilitates temperature measurement from a distance without contact with the object to be measured. As such, the infrared thermometer is useful for measuring temperature under circumstances where thermocouples or other probe type sensors cannot be used or do not produce accurate data for a variety of reasons. A detector is a device that detects or measures some phenomenon or stimulus, and produces some signal in response. ... The article on electrical energy is located elsewhere. ... The distance between two points is the length of a straight line segment between them. ... This article or section should include material from Thermocouples applied In electronics, thermocouples are a widely used kind of temperature sensor. ...

Some typical circumstances are where the object to be measured is moving; where the object is surrounded by an electromagnetic field, as in induction heating; where the object is contained in a vacuum or other controlled atmosphere; or in applications where a fast response is required. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... A semiconductor induction heater with a small inductor Induction heating is the process of heating a metal object by electromagnetic induction, where eddy currents are generated within the metal and resistance leads to Joule heating of the metal. ... Look up Vacuum in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Infrared thermometers can be used to serve a wide variety of temperature monitoring fuctions. A few examples provided to this article include:

• Detecting clouds for remote telescope operation
• Checking mechanical equipment or electrical circuit breaker boxes or outlets for hot spots
• Checking heater or oven temperature, for calibration and control purposes
• Detecting hot spots / performing diagnostics in electrical circuit board manufacturing
• Checking for hot spots in fire fighting situations
• Monitoring materials in process of heating and cooling, for research and development or manufacturing quality control situations

There are many varieties of infrared temperature sensing devices available today, including configurations designed for flexible and portable handheld use, as well many designed for mounting in a fixed position to serve a dedicated purpose for long periods. Typical sensor varieties include:

• Spot Infrared Thermometers, also know as Infrared Pyrometers, designed for monitoring a finite area or "spot" of space

• Infrared Line Scanning Systems, typically incorporating what is essentially a spot thermometer pointed at a rotating mirror, for continuously scanning a wide area of space. These devices are widely used in manufacturing involving conveyors or "web" processes, such as large sheets of glass or metal exiting an oven, fabric and paper, or continuous piles of material along a conveyor belt.

• Infrared Cameras, are essentially infrared thermometers designed as a camera, monitoring a thousand points at once, output as a two dimensional image, and with each pixel representing a temperature. This techonolgy is typically more processor and software intense than the items above, and is used for monitoring large areas of space. Typical applications include perimeter monitoring used by military or security personnel, inspection / process quality montioring of manufacturing processes, and equipment or enclosed space hot or cold spot monitoring for safety and efficiency maintenance purposes.

A pyrometer is non-contact temperature measuring device, generally the term is applied to instruments measuring temperatures above 600 degrees Celsius. ... Image of a small dog taken in mid-infrared (thermal) light (false color) A thermographic camera, sometimes called a FLIR (Forward Looking InfraRed), or an infrared camera less specifically, is a device that forms an image using infrared radiation, similar to a common camera that forms an image using visible...

See also

• Infrared camera
• Thermography