Talk:Forging/@comment-2600:8800:7D88:4150:B1FB:D206:A73B:7ADB-20171124080812/@comment-70.78.116.240-20190117013143

It's probably less about accurately reporting the internal temperatures of the furnace; because how would William Mackenzie read those temperatures in the first place (no simple thermometer would survive such an environment); and more about William estimating the "feels like" temperature radiating from just near and around the furnace out into the atmosphere where the reported temperatures are more plausible. Early metalurgists would estimate the temperatures within their furnaces this way as well, in addition to observing the colors of the flames and molten metals within. IR cameras and heat guns are still relatively new tools in the hands of modern metallurgists.