The latest advancement from leading player in accelerated artificial and natural weathering testing Atlas, a division of Ametek, is said to be the first time a system makes it possible to continuously measure the specific surface temperature of individual samples during live testing. The new Atlas S³T is designed for the company’s flagship Weather-Ometer Ci4400 and Ci5000 instruments. At the core of the S³T system is an integrated, contactless IR pyrometer, which is said to accurately and precisely measure and assign the surface temperature of each specimen, and can operate continuously during the complete exposure. The system enables:

 •  Better reproduction of natural conditions, such as heat uptake and color distribution

 •  Better control of test parameters to avoid overheating of specimens

 •  Continuous tracing of the specific sample temperature, enabling the immediate detection of property changes, such as darkening, without disruption of the test

 •  Investigation of specific sample characteristics, such as activation energies of photochemical degradation reactions, for cool pigments, IR-reflective coatings, and heat and light stabilizers.