What is an Infrared Thermometer?
Infrared thermometers are devices used to remotely measure temperature in situations where it is not possible to be in physical contact with the object being measured. This includes objects that are very hot, very small or very far away. Infrared thermometers are also well suited for measuring objects that are especially prone to minute changes in temperature, or which cover vast areas making use of conventional thermometers impractical. Variable in design and size – ranging from something that would fit in your palm to a 200 lbs. telescope-shaped device – infrared thermometers take advantage of the fact that, above absolute zero, all objects emit electromagnetic radiation or energy. By measuring the energy given off by objects in two different wavelength regions of the infrared portion of the spectrum, infrared thermometers internally compare the different readings in a ratio which corresponds to a known set of values linking energy distribution with wavelength to temperature. Infrare
An infrared radiometer (sensor) provides a remote temperature measurement of an object without touching it. The sensor measures the amount of infrared energy emitted from an object and converts this to a digital temperature readout. Can the object being measured be moving? Yes. Measuring moving targets is one of the benefits of using non-contact infrared thermometry. How close do I have to be to an object to take its temperature? Distance does not effect the measurement. However, infrared instruments measure the energy from a circular spot on the target, and the size of that spot is a function of the distance between the sensor and the target. The farther away from the target the sensor is, the larger the spot. Consequently, distance is limited by the size of the object and the distance to the object you want to measure. Does color effect infrared measurement? No. However, a different surface characteristic, called emissivity, does. Emissivity is a function of both the type of material
