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► Cove a part of the surface of the measuring object with a black, flat paint with an emissivity of 0,98. Adjust 
the emissivity of your infrared thermometer to 0,98 and take the temperature of the colored surface. 
Afterwards, determine the temperature of a directly adjacent area and modify the emissivity until the 
measured value corresponds to the temperature of the colored surface. 
 
CAUTION: On all three methods the object temperature must be different from ambient temperature. 
 
Characteristic Emissivities 
 
In case none of the methods mentioned above help to determine the emissivity you may use the emissivity 
tables ► Appendix A and B. These are average values, only. The actual emissivity of a material depends 
on the following factors: 
  temperature 
  measuring angle 
  geometry of the surface 
  thickness of the material 
  constitution of the surface (polished, oxidized, rough, sandblast) 
  spectral range of the measurement 
  transmissivity (e.g. with thin films)