A simple non-invasive optical pyrometric method for plotting temperature—Time profiles of high temperature reactions in microwave ovens

A simple optical pyrometric method is described, based on a photocell with red and blue filters calibrated by the disappearing filament technique. The method, which is cheap, non-invasive and reproducible, is used for measurement of the rate of heating of solid materials such as coke, CuO or Fe₃O₄ in a microwave oven. All materials were heated under dinitrogen in a silica reaction vessel over 3 min in a 650 W oven. Coke (which contains graphitic phases) and magnetite heat smoothly to maximum temperatures of 1180 and 1050°C respectively. CuO heats erratically with plasma discharges from the surface, however when covered with a layer of coke the oxide heats smoothly achieving a maximum temperature of 1210°C. The observations are discussed.