Yesterdays "Dinning IN/Out" section of the New York Times had an article
on a new, cheap hand held IR sensor for measuring surface temperatures --
discovered when the writer's auto mechanic used one to check here engin
temperature. As best I recall, she says it works in either C or F
degrees, and responds from about 0 F to about 500 F. About $140.
Not what I understand to be an optical pyrometer, but might work in your
experiment. (The in-your-ear thermometers seem to be a similar gadget.)
David Roberts
Physics, Bowdoin College
droberts@bowdoin.edu