Michael, C. A.Howard, J.2015-10-082015-10-080034-6748http://hdl.handle.net/1885/15822We describe a technique to absolutely estimate the electron temperature in radiation dominated plasmas from the temporal decay during the plasma afterglow of the intensity of a single spectral line. The model and underlying assumptions are described. We apply the model to data in both rf heated argon discharges and electron cyclotron heated He/Hdischarges in the H-1 heliac. The results agree well with probe measurements.http://www.sherpa.ac.uk/romeo/issn/0034-6748..."Publishers version/PDF may be used on author's personal website, institutional website or institutional repository" from SHERPA/RoMEO site (as at 8/10/15). Copyright 2004 American Institute of Physics. This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and the American Institute of Physics. The following article appeared in Review of Scientific Instruments and may be found at https://doi.org/10.1063/1.17876032004-1010.1063/1.17876032015-12-12