The activities of chromatography adsorbents (stationary phases) such as silica and alumina are greatly affected by their water content. the most active adsorbents are those that contain the least amount of moisture. why is this the case?

answer: semi-infinite solid initially at a uniform temperature of 400 ◦c is cooled at its surface by convection. the cooling fluid at a constant temperature of 200 ◦c has a convective coefficient (ha) of 250 w/m2.k. the physical properties of the solid: k = 20 w/m.k and α = 4 * 10-5  m2/s. using δx = 0.04 m and δt = 10 s. write the finite difference equations describing the transient heat transfer of the first five δx and the temperature profile after 30 s.