Infrared thermometer
- Thread starter keras
- Start date
If you are pointing at the liquid, do you think that the outsdside of the glass is a diferent temperature from the inside? Why would it be? Most infared thermmeters aren't very accurate. f you are trying to be within 15 degrees, you might be ok, but to measure more accurately than that you need an immersion type thermometer or probe
Don't listen to the nonsense above. Any decent infrared thermometer is sufficiently accurate (down to +/- 1 °C) and is a useful tool in the lab as long as you know how to use it and understand its limitations. I know it because I own one and I used it while making mephedrone about an hour ago. Apparently a decent infrared thermometer does not need to be expensive - mine was $6.4.
The most important limitation is that you can't take reading of a clear/transparent solution. It must be opaque or murky, such as when you cook 4-MMC using MA.HCl and your stirrer churns undissolved MA.HCl, NaOH and crashed out NaCl in a big tornado of solid particles. If you don't work with a suspension and your solution is transparent (like when I was boiling off water from sulfuric acid, or when making 4-MMC with MA 40 %) then you should take a reading of the surface of the vessel where there is some logo, symbols or letters that can provide the basis for the reading.
And then there's the thing about the maximum distance from the measured object, but that does not really apply to us home cooks who measure from few cm or inches distance.
Get a thermometer with adjustable emissivity to be able to compensate for different materials, sufficient temperature range, a backlit display and you'll be happy with the purchase. Boil some water and measure the temperature to confirm the accuracy using a known reference temperature.
The most important limitation is that you can't take reading of a clear/transparent solution. It must be opaque or murky, such as when you cook 4-MMC using MA.HCl and your stirrer churns undissolved MA.HCl, NaOH and crashed out NaCl in a big tornado of solid particles. If you don't work with a suspension and your solution is transparent (like when I was boiling off water from sulfuric acid, or when making 4-MMC with MA 40 %) then you should take a reading of the surface of the vessel where there is some logo, symbols or letters that can provide the basis for the reading.
And then there's the thing about the maximum distance from the measured object, but that does not really apply to us home cooks who measure from few cm or inches distance.
Get a thermometer with adjustable emissivity to be able to compensate for different materials, sufficient temperature range, a backlit display and you'll be happy with the purchase. Boil some water and measure the temperature to confirm the accuracy using a known reference temperature.