Professional chefs claim that gas stove burners are superior to electric burners because of the more uniform heating afforded by the gas flame and combustion products around the bottom of a cooking pan. Advocates of electric stoves note the lack of combustion products to pollute the air in the cooking area, but acknowledge that gas heat may be more uniform. Manufacturers of thick-bottomed cookware claim that their products can achieve uniformity of cooking as good as gas heat because of the "spreading" of heat through an 8-mm-thick aluminum layer on the bottom of the pan. You are asked to verify this claim. For the evaluation assume a 200-mm-diameter pan with an 8-mm-thick aluminum bottom and the interior exposed to boiling water, which produces h = 1500 W/m2 · ºC at 1 atm (100ºC). Observe the approximate spacing for the circular element in an electric burner and devise an appropriate numerical model to investigate the uniformity-of-heating claim. Consider such factors as contact resistance between the burner element and the bottom of the pan, and radiation transfer that might be present. Consider different heating rates (different burner element temperatures) and their effect. When the study is complete, make recommendations as to what the cookware manufacturers might prudently claim for their thick-bottomed product. Discuss uncertainties in your analysis.