The measurement of the kinetics of fast chemical reactions, such as hydrocarbon pyrolysis, is often hampered by limitations of the experimental reactor. To overcome problems in getting to reaction temperature, a micro‐reactor system has been developed with temperature rise times (TRT) in the millisecond range. Data is presented for the dynamic response of a Curie Point pyrolyser along with a computer simulation of how the gas‐filled micro‐reactor would respond. The importance of temperature rise time is clearly demonstrated by the computer simulations of propane and naphtha pyrolysis in the temperature range of 600°C and 1100°C.