Tuesday, June 03, 2008

A little history on thermometers: Gabriel Fahrenheit invented the first mercury thermometer in 1714. Some history reference books state that Galileo Galilei invented a very imperfectly developed water thermometer in 1593. It was a device that consisted of a long glass tube inverted in a sealed jar that contained both air and water. It is stated that there are no supporting documentation to support his work on this. This is what scientists have found. The true inventor of the thermometer was Santorio Santorii . Santorio first used his thermometer for medical use.His works were published in 1612. He applied a medical scale to his thermoscope which had previously only been used to measure air temperature, to measuring human body temperature, so this became the first thermometer! There are currently many new and updated reasons to use thermometers in the 20th century. Checking a child's temperature, checking the temperature of a candy recipe to make sure it sustains a constant temperature, checking the temperature of a roast that you are cooking to make sure it is just right and not overcooked. In the food Industry, health inspectors used to rely on regular contact thermometers, to monitor critical temperatures. Now we have new technology that allows Food Inspectors to use Infrared thermometers that allow them to just point and shoot at their target. Non-contact thermometers use Infrared laser technology to quickly and safely measure the surface temperature of objects. It is so easy! All you have to do is point from a distance, aim at object or surface that you want to get a temperature reading on, and it appears on the LCD screen on the unit. These units are a great addition to the 20th Century, in that they provide you with a reading within seconds, compared to much longer times when we measured things with manual thermometers. Another great aspect of an infrared thermometer is that they are great for Hazardous Analysis and Critical Control Points. (HACCP) programs, which require general monitoring of food temperatures. Infrared Thermometers are used in all aspects of food handling, processing, preparation storage and safety. Inspectors can monitor processing equipment. Used as a scanning tool they can easily spot potential problem areas. Control Company offers a model that is traceable to NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology), adjustable emissivity (a measure of a materials ability to absorb and radiate energy), data hold, maximum and minimum memory, and one-second sampling. Next time you want to check the temperature of a pot or the outside of your oven, remember you can use new Infrared Technology by using an Infrared laser thermometer.