INFRARED THERMOMETER

Description

An infrared thermometer is a thermometer which infers temperature from a portion of the thermal radiation sometimes called black-body radiation emitted by the object being measured. They are sometimes called laser thermometers as a laser is used to help aim the thermometer, or non-contact thermometers or temperature guns, 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 object’s temperature can often be determined within a certain range of its actual temperature. Infrared thermometers are a subset of devices known as “thermal radiation thermometers”.

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 another controlled atmosphere; or in applications where a fast response is required, the accurate surface temperature is desired or the object temperature is above the recommended use point for contact sensors, or contact with a sensor would mar the object or the sensor, or introduce a significant temperature gradient on the object’s surface.

In 2020 when COVID-19 pandemic hit the world, infrared thermometers were used to measure people’s temperature and deny them entry to potential transmission sites if they showed signs of fever. Public health authorities such as the FDA in United States published rules to assure accuracy and consistency among the infrared thermometers.