Two AISI 304 stainless steel plates 10 mm thick are subjected to a contact pressure of 1 bar under vacuum conditions for which there is an overall temperature drop of 100°C across the plates. (a) What is the heat flux through the plates? (b) What is the temperature drop across the contact plane? Use R"t.c=15 x 10⁻⁴ m² K/W and evaluate the properties of stainless steel at 400 K.