Infrared Thermometer with laser pointer

[rudebwoy]

This device would be effective for measuring your hot plate.  I suppose it's a quick tool instead of waiting for your candy thermometer to work.
Would it work however for say measuring flask temperature.  It is glass and it will difract the ir beam.  But it would return somewhat. 

here's the link.  $49.99

  Infrared Thermometer

(http://www.sears.com/sr/product/summary/productsummary.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1599964957.1054585768@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccccadcihikkgkdcehgcemgdffmdfko.0&vertical=TOOL&fromAuto=YES&bidsite=CRAFT&pid=03482327000)

I think i did that url link right

[ClearLight]

The laser pointer is just so you get the bolometer or whatever other thermal chip they have in there in alignment w/ what you measure.  So there is no "refraction" occuring because it is measuring the black body radiation emitted by the hot surface...

  Night vision goggles work from about 900nm to 1200nm, advanced NVG's work up to 1400nm  Humans start glowing in thermal imagers around 12000 to 14000 nm.  Infra-red missile guidance on exhausts works in the 4000-8000 nm range...

  So no problem on your flask..

  Just went to the link...oooh i like that ALOT!  guess I'll have to get one.. really good for checkning thermal loss on your fractionating column, oil bath temp. etc. May or may not work on measuring your flask contents, give the walls of the flask will be @ Oil bath temp.  I tend to doubt that you could get an internal measurement w/ it. At least it goes up to 270 deg C which is the magic number!

[Organikum]

But also there you have to calibrate it before use. The wrongreadings can be hilarous under certain conditions. Electronic thermometers, selfcalibrating which use a thermocouple or even better Pt100/Pt500/Pt1000 sensors are the way to go - not cheapo if you want quality but you can use several sensors at once and have a data output to the computer and a program to display the readings. Thermocouples come in SS, glass, PTFE/Teflon and raw just tenth of a millimeter thick.

Counting the killed glassthermos this would have been MUCH cheaper. And less suspicious also.