radiation pyrometer
Noun: A radiation pyrometer is a type of pyrometer (an instrument for measuring high temperatures) that estimates the temperature of a distant, hot object. It operates by focusing the thermal radiation (infrared light) emitted by the source onto a thermocouple (a thermojunction). The electrical signal generated by the thermocouple is then measured, typically by a galvanometer, to determine the temperature without making physical contact with the object.
The term is used specifically in the fields of physics, engineering, and industrial process control to describe this non-contact temperature measurement device. - The engineer used a radiation pyrometer to monitor the temperature of the molten metal from a safe distance. - Radiation pyrometers are essential for measuring the surface temperature of objects in furnaces or kilns.
- Industrial Applications: Radiation pyrometers are critical in industries like steel manufacturing, glass production, and ceramics, where direct contact measurement is impossible or would damage the instrument.
- Calibration: The accuracy of a radiation pyrometer depends on proper calibration for the emissivity of the target material's surface.
- Pyrometer (n): The general category of instruments for measuring high temperatures.
- Optical pyrometer (n): A different type of pyrometer that compares the brightness of the hot object to a calibrated internal filament.
- Infrared thermometer (n): A modern, broader term often used for handheld devices operating on a similar non-contact principle.
- Non-contact thermometer
- Infrared pyrometer (Note: This is a very close synonym, though "radiation pyrometer" often refers to a specific design focusing on a thermojunction.)
- Thermal radiation: The electromagnetic radiation emitted by an object due to its heat, which the pyrometer detects.
- Thermocouple / Thermojunction: The sensor that converts heat into an electrical voltage.
- Galvanometer: The instrument used to detect and measure small electric currents, such as the one produced by the thermocouple.
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a pyrometer for estimating the temperature of distant sources of heat; radiation is focussed on a thermojunction connected in circuit with a galvanometer
