Method and apparatus for measuring radiant energy
AssigneeScientech Corporation
InventorRobert W. Zimmerer
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Method and apparatus for measuring radiant energy, particularly relatively high energy levels of coherent radiation, in which the energy impinges upon an absorber surface, the energy transferred from the absorber surface to a fluid coolant in thermal association with the absorber surface, and the energy carried away by the coolant measured by means of a temperature difference measuring device, preferably a thermopile, positioned in thermal contact with a portion of the inlet leg of the coolant conduit and the outlet leg thereof, in order that high energy levels may be measured at a cool absorber surface while flowing relatively small amounts of heat energy through the temperature difference measuring means.
Claims4
In a fluid cooled radiant energy measuring device having an absorber structure for receiving and absorbing the radiant energy, and a coolant system including a coolant conduit having inlet and outlet legs and adapted to flow a coolant therethrough to carry away the absorbed energy, the improvement comprising:
- the coolant conduit and the absorber structure being in thermal contact;
- and
- a plurality of Peltier effect junctions with opposite sides of the junctions in thermal contact with the inlet leg and the outlet leg respectively of the coolant conduit, whereby the absorber structure will be effectively cooled by thermal contact with the coolant conduit, and the radiant energy measured by the Peltier effect device to determine the radiant energy falling on the absorber structure.
A method for measuring radiant energy power comprising:
- directing the radiant energy to an absorption structure to absorb the radiant energy and convert such energy to sensible heat;
- transferring the radiant energy generated sensible heat from the absorption structure to a fluid coolant carried in a coolant conduit that is in direct thermal contact with the absorption structure;
- measuring the temperature difference between the inlet leg of the conduit and the outlet leg, by means of a Peltier effect device positioned with opposite sides of the junction in thermal contact between the inlet and outlet legs of the coolant conduit, which temperature difference is a function of the sensible heat flowed from the absorption structure to the coolant;
- and
- generating a Peltier effect electrical signal as a function of the temperature difference between the inlet and outlet legs of the conduit indicative of the energy absorbed at the absorption surface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.