Talk:Infrared thermometer

message: The section on accuracy doesn't actually address accuracy at all.   — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.25.71.175 (talk) 17:29, 23 February 2017 (UTC)
replies: text: I'd certainly agree that the article is lacking in technical detail, but on the one point about distance the devices are not designed to measure small objects.  The objects need to fill the whole beamwidth.  Inverse square law effects only apply when the source is small compared with the beam width.  -- David Woolley 12:45, 13 November 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Thanks. That wasn't clear from the article. Given that some of these devices project tiny laser spots to mark out the object whose temperature you wish to measure, it would be easy to overlook the need for the body to be much larger than the laser spot. It would be helpful to users if this potential pitfall could be made clear in the article. StuFifeScotland 11:57, 18 November 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I think this is a very pertinent question and I would anwer it differently.  The spot size viewed by the lens increases in area in proportion to the square of the distance from the device, so that while the radiation intensity always decreases with distance according to the inverse square law, the radiation captured from the target goes up by the same ratio and compensates for this. Thus there is no need for the device to know its distance from the target.
David.stuart.thompson (talk) 18:37, 3 March 2013 (UTC)
thread_title: old comments

message: An example of one of the technical details that this article ought to be addressing (as well as the different types of sensor already mentioned on this talk page) is why these devices typically also have thermistor sensors to measure the device temperature.
Based on some clues I've found and some guesswork, so none of this meets the traceability requirements for inclusion in the main article, it seems to me that one
reason is that any object with an emissivity of less than 1, e.g. the typical value
of 0.95 for dielectric materials that the devices are normally calibrated for, will
reflect a proportion of the general environmental background infrared radiation into
the device.  Measuring the device temperatures assumes that it is in equilibrium with that radiation, which may or may not be a valid assumption.
A possible secondary reason is that the detector is almost certainly seeing a 
signficant amount of radiation from the inside of the device itself, which, as
a closed structure may be closer to a black box.
The overall measurement will therefore be a mixture of all the above, but can
be compensated if you know the source emissivity and you are confident that the
measuring device is in radiative thermal equilibrium with its surroundings.
I also suspect that radiation pyrometer is a synonym, even though the current article for these suggests a minimum temperature that is rather high compared with
typical use of IR thermometers (which are typically used for food and central 
heating system temperatures).
David Woolley 13:09, 13 November 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Why these devices need to measure ambient temperature 

message: :Image:InfraredShellScanningExample.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.
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BetacommandBot (talk) 16:43, 2 January 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Fair use rationale for Image:InfraredShellScanningExample.jpg

message: Cheap small consumer non-contact thermometers are sold for less that $50 (Cen-Tech, Harbor Freight) with spot sizes from 12:1 to 6:1, that measure with a resolution of .1 degree over a wide range, with a claimed accuracy of about 2 degrees.  Smaller pocket versions with spots sizes of 1:1 are available for under $20.  What sensors do these use?
Please add information about non-contact ear thermometers.  How much do they cost?  What sensors do they use?  How are they different from more general purpose devices?
Interesting discussion of IR thermal imaging cameras tech aspects:
forums.makezine.com/comments.php?DiscussionID=1950
-96.237.10.106 (talk) 02:28, 30 May 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Infrared sensors 

message: From what I have researched online, there are infrared thermometers that are designed not only for use in commercial / industrial applications, but also for medical / human application, meaning for taking human body temperature -- which seems to not be part of the article currently.  I would suggest this be included.
Jarentology (talk) 08:03, 12 February 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  Differentiation on infrared thermometer use -- industrial vs human 

message: There is no history section.  The article on Thermometers claims, "In 1999, Dr. Francesco Pompei of the Exergen Corporation introduced the world's first temporal artery thermometer, a non-invasive temperature sensor which scans the forehead in about two seconds and provides a medically accurate body temperature."  But the citation is to the company's own website rather than to a reliable source.  Surely we can do better.  Gnuish (talk) 09:22, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
thread_title:  History of infrared thermometers?