Remote temperature measurements can be made by measuring the lifetimes of fluorescence of light emitted by a phosphor excited with pulsed ultraviolet light. The technique was first used to measure the temperature of the rotator of a centrifuge used to separate isotopes of uranium while it was spinning at an ultrahigh angular velocity. This experiment is a study of the principles involved and measurements are made of the lifetimes of a light from a phosphor as a function of temperature to establish a calibration function. While the initial measurement techniques involved a pulsed nitrogen laser, this experiment uses a newly developed and affordable apparatus that uses a pulsed ultraviolet LED for the measurement. Lifetimes on the order of 1 to 50 µsec are determined.

Presented at the 2013 AAPT Summer Meeting
in Portland, Oregon.
W36: Advanced Labs Workshop