Patent ID: 7995195

Claim:
A method for optically monitoring the progression of a physical and/or chemical process taking place on a surface of a body, the process being a thermally activated process of firing a dental restoration part, in which a temporal profile of the intensity of a surface radiation, which emanates from part of the surface, is measured with the aid of a measuring device, wherein the measuring device is a sensor, wherein the change in the reflected portion of the radiation ( 14 ), which emanates from an extraneous source, is measured through the change in intensity of the surface radiation ( 13 ), and wherein the beginning of the process is ascertained by determining a discontinuity in the intensity curve of the surface radiation ( 13 ), said intensity curve running continuously before the start of the process, and wherein the end of the process is ascertained by determining a discontinuity of the intensity curve, said intensity curve of the surface radiation ( 13 ) running continuously after the end of the process, and wherein zero, maxima and minima of the first and/or second derivative of the intensity curve are used in order to determine the beginning and the end of the process and to characterize the profile of the curve.