Thursday May 29, 2003

After seeing this photo and this photo I wondered if the cop was using some kind of laser to check people's temperature without touching them. Sure enough, you can buy a laser thermometer for about a hundred bucks.

You can do much more than check someone for a fever, it measures temperatures from -18 to 275°C (0 to 525°F) at a distance of up to four feet. While not as visually satisfying as thermal imaging you might be able to use it to scan the outside of your house for heat leaks on a cold night (or cold leaks on a hot night?). Maybe you could point it down the back of an animal's throat to measure their temperature instead of, well, you know.