The disappearing filament principle

used in Optical Pyrometers

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Artwork courtesy of Spectrodyne, Inc.
Page URL: http://www.temperatures.com/Howopticals.html

temperatures.com - 2001
 The disappearing filament principle—optical system -

Eye Field Red Erecting Lamp Range Objective

lens Filter Lens Lens
Lens Filter

Field Exit Entrance

Stop Stop Stop

Figure - Optical system of DFP 2000 pyrometer

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 The disappearing filament principle-1.
An operator sights onto a hot target, adjusts the range until its image
is seen in red. The lamp filament is initially cooler than the target
and its image appears as a darker red or black superimposed on the
target’s image.

Image of
Hot Target
Image of
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What the operator sees when looking into the eyepiece; the target in red, its surroundings
in black (cooler) or red (hot) and superimposed on the target, the filament. The view is
circular because the optical system is made up of circular lenses, apertures etc.
 The disappearing filament principle-2.
The lamp current is raised until the image of the filament becomes
hotter than the target and it appears as brighter red than the target.

Image of
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Pointer indicating
Image of hot target the center of the
filament.
 The disappearing filament principle-3.
The lamp current is adjusted until the lamp filament’s brightness*
temperature equals that of the target. The filament’s image blends
into the image of the target. The filament “disappears”.

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* Brightness or radiance temperature is the temperature that a blackbody would have when it
looks as bright as the target. It is almost always a lower temperature than the true temperature
because of the effect of the target’s emissivity. However if the target is an object in a furnace or
oven of about the same temperature, the true and brightness temperatures are very close to the
same value. Also, if the target is in a cooler surroundings and has a relatively high emissivity,
the difference between the true and brightness temperatures may be small. The difference for a
wide range of conditions can be estimated from a table in ASTM Standard E1256.