Consider a large uranium plate of thickness L = 9 cm, thermal conductivity k = 28 W/m · K, and thermal diffusivity α = 12.5 × 10^-6 m²/s that is initially at a uniform temperature of 100°C. Heat is generated uniformly in the plate at a constant rate of ė = 10⁶ W/m³. At time t = 0, the left side of the plate is insulated while the other side is subjected to convection with an environment at T_∞ = 20°C with a heat transfer coefficient of h = 35 W/m² · K. Using the explicit finite difference approach with a uniform nodal spacing of Δx = 1.5 cm, determine

(a) The temperature distribution in the plate after 5 min

(b) How long it will take for steady conditions to be reached in the plate.