Calculated Uncertainty of Temperature Due to the Size-of-Source Effect in Commercial Radiation Thermometers

The article evaluates the uncertainty in the temperature indicated by a radiation thermometer with a direct readout in temperature, due to the uncertainty in measuring the size-of-source effect (SSE) by the so-called “direct method.” Radiation thermometers of this type are the ones most frequently used in practice. The uncertainty of the SSE characteristic is usually not a useful quantity to report to users of commercial radiation thermometers. Instead, they would prefer to know the uncertainty in the measured temperature that results from the uncertainty of the SSE characteristic, and this will be the result of our analysis. The user of a direct reading radiation thermometer will be able to take into account the uncertainty of temperature due to the SSE, if a target with known dimensions is measured. The uncertainty in temperature due to the SSE of analyses based on Planck’s law and its approximation, Wien’s law is compared.