Re: Debunking The 9/11 Myths - Mar. 2005 Cover Story

John,

I respect your arguments, but I believe you are wrong this time. Most times you arguments are good.

But, there are several flaws in your questions.

"At what temperature do steel girders melt?"


This question is asked in a fashion of making an assumption that steel needs to melt into liquid in order to collapse.

The truth is, steel does not need to be liquid. It is enough to heat it up to the point where it will loose it's loading-bearing capacity.

Steel constructions are projected to bear weight of a building plus much more at normal temperatures. Normal temperatures usually take into account fires, but only some fires, fires that will not take several floors or last too long or have an extra source of fuel.

Collapse can actually be explained by the heat from the fires. The steel in the towers could have collapsed only if heated to the point where it lost 80 percent of its strength, around 1,300°F (704°C) according to experts.


It is estimated that, at the time of impact, each aircraft had approximately 10,000 gallons of unused fuel on board (compiled from Government sources). Some part of that fuel and energy was dissipated at impact explosion.

Each floor of the building also contains furniture, paper, carpets, plastics, wood and other materials that can catch fire.

Considering that buildings are huge, air of the inner parts of buildings could have easily been heated to over 2000°C - 2500°C, and that could be enough to heat up steel to 704°C.

I have a wood stove in my house. The wood stove is small, less then 100 liter volume. If I fill the stove with wood, and I let it burn with maximum of air until it all becomes red, temperature inside raises over 2,000°F.

Actually, on several occasions, temperature was so high, back side of the stove (side facing wall) was severely deformed, meaning that steel was soft enough to deform without any mechanical force acting upon it.

I have seen inner parts of the stove heated to white color.


"At what temperature does jet fuel burn?"

This question is meaningless. You did not ask the question "Where?"

It is like asking the question "At what temperature does wood burn?" The question is where?


If you burn jet fuel together with furniture, and you keep accumulating heat inside enclosed area ... temperature may easily reach 5-50 times the normal temperature measured inside a jet engine.
When fuel burns inside jet engine, it is blown out into cold air, and it has no chance to accumulate heat/energy.



Talk with fire-fighters, and they will tell you about fires that melt glass. Small fire, affecting a single apartment, can easily reach temperature needed to melt glass, steel or any other material.

At what temperature does office material and cubicle padding burn?

As I said, finding glass or metal deformed after some fires is not uncommon.


I have seen videos.

The collapse occurred exactly where the heat would be highest. The motion of the building moving downward simply did the rest of the job.

You can watch similar videos if you watch "Demolitions" on National Geographic.

Once large parts of a tall structure start moving down, their kinetic energy crashes the rest of the building.

White Shark