A ceramic heat shield tile on the exterior of a re-entry vehicle has a rectangular face measuring 25cm×40cm. When exposed to aerodynamic heating the tile’s outward-facing surface reaches a steady temperature of 1200K. The emissivity of the ceramic surface at this temperature is 0.85. Assume the other side of the tile is perfectly insulated so that all thermal energy leaves through the outward-facing surface.
(a) Convert the area of the outward-facing surface to square metres.
(b) Calculate the rate at which the tile’s outward-facing surface emits thermal energy at 1200K. Express your answer in kilowatts.
(c) Determine the power per unit area emitted by the tile and comment briefly on how this quantity depends on temperature.