The information below is intended to provide a description of the demonstration, an explanation for elementary students, and further explanation for high school students. Please keep in mind that not all demonstrations are presented at each show. The demonstrator then uses the propane torch to heat a portion of the tile to a very high temperature, as seen by the red glow. Only the portions of the tile close to the region being heated are affected by the heating, and the demonstrator can put his hand anywhere on the tile without feeling heat, except for very near where the tile was directly heated.
Heat moves through a material at a specific rate.
The shuttle tile is made of a material which is 99.8 percent silica-based. The silica-based shuttle tile is a material which only allows heat to move through it very slowly. When one spot of the tile is heated by the propane torch, that heat moves very slowly through the tile. At the same time, the heat from the tile radiates and is conducted to the air. Since the heat moves very slowly, only the portion of the tile very near where the tile was directly heated has been affected by the heat.