1 Destruction of the Twin Towers

2 Problem with NIST Report Describes what they claim happened up until the beginning of “collapse,” which then proceeded in a gravity-driven “pile- driver” process (as opposed to the “pancaking” FEMA postulated) Analyzing the destruction of the building wasn’t part of their assignment THE PROBLEM is that the destruction displayed too many features inconsistent with a gravity-driven model.

3 WTC 1-2 Destruction Features Massive 1000’ structure of cross- braced thick steel columns were dismembered (North tower section survived only temporarily) Core Obliteration

4 WTC 1-2 Destruction Features 3-column-3-floor assemblies connected by welded/bolted spandrel plates Perimeter Columns

5 WTC 1-2 Destruction Features Perimeter Shredding

6 WTC 1-2 Destruction Features Concrete was pulverized before it hit the ground, as destruction progressed Concrete Pulverization

7 WTC 1-2 Destruction Features Both towers exhibited this mushrooming effect, expanding to many times the size of the tower Explosive Mushrooming

8 WTC 1-2 Destruction Features Large pieces of the structures were thrown horizontally long distances at relatively high velocities Lateral Ejection

9 WTC 1-2 Destruction Features Dust and debris are ejected before fall -- South tower top is only tipping Early ejections

10 WTC 1-2 Destruction Features Ejections of dust far below destruction -- pressure might be distributed that far down due to pile- driver compression, but where does the dust come from? Squibs

11 WTC 1-2 Destruction Features Equal-time frames, angle changes from 1 to 2, not from 2 to 3, cessation of rotation violates conservation of angular momentum, unless mass is being destroyed Destruction Above Impact Zone

12 WTC 1-2 Destruction Features Many different versions –some (even 9/11 Commission) claiming 10 secs –Jim Hoffman’s video timeline indicates 15 secs Free-fall ~ 10 seconds Even 15 too fast for overcoming obstacles at each story: –destruction of the structural integrity –pulverization of the concrete in the floor slabs, and other non- metallic objects –acceleration of the remains outward or downward. Speed of Fall

13 WTC 1-2 Destruction Features Dust reached ground 10 seconds after start Core “spire” still standing, fell at 29 seconds Cloud has reached out 700’ Speed: 700/20 = 35 feet/sec = 24 mph Expanding Dust Clouds

14 Long-lived Molten Steel Hey, let’s forget about the molten steel for a minute - - just like NIST did -- and... WTC 1-2 Destruction Features

15 Let’s get technical ! 1.for NIST’s “pile driver” to cause collapse? 2.to expand the large, fast dust clouds? 3.to throw heavy beams fast and far? Was there ENOUGH ENERGY available

16 Forces and Momentum Momentum Transfer Analysis of the Collapse of the Upper Storeys of WTC 1 Dr. Gordon Ross, June

17 Forces and Momentum Previous momentum analyses treated floors as individual items hanging in space, instead of being interconnected, with forces moving and distributing through the structure below. Basic idea

18 Forces and Momentum 1.Elastic phase -- load increases to failure load, at which point column is shortened 0.2% of its length; can recover (“bounce”) 2.Shortening phase -- failure load then shortens column, up to 3% of its length 3.Buckling phase -- buckling points appear, much less force needed to continue 4.Speed of propagation wave: 4500 m/sec Compression of Steel Columns What you need to know about...

19 Forces and Momentum Top 16 stories of North Tower (as a chunk) free-falls through a “disappeared” story Hits at 8.5 m/sec At that speed, it takes.013 sec to shorten next story by 3% (to commence buckling).013 sec is time for force to propagate ~60m, or 16 stories down, so all these are “moving” and thus have momentum What happens 1

20 Forces and (conserved) Momentum Now 16+1 stories falling, cuts speed from 8.5 to 8 m/sec... BUT The 16 stories below are also moving slightly, and their combined momentum slows the top chunk to about 5 m/sec This gives additional time for the propagation wave to involve additional floors What happens 2

21 Forces and Momentum... and after many detailed calculations of kinetic and potential energy, elastic and plastic strain energy, and concrete pulverization energy...

22 Forces and Momentum Energy Summary

23 Forces and Momentum Initial drop -- Assumption of unimpeded drop is unrealistically favorable to continued collapse Elastic springback -- robs some kinetic energy Ejections -- mass is lost by material thrown outside the tower perimeter, and energy required to move that mass outward The “chunk” -- energy also absorbed by damage sustained by lighter columns in “chunk” Other damage -- energy needed to sever floor/column connections and destroy other structural elements and floor contents But that’s an underestimate

24 Forces and Momentum The energy balance of the collapse moves into deficit during the plastic shortening phase of the first impacted columns showing that there would be insufficient energy available from the released potential energy of the upper section to satisfy all of the energy demands of the collision. The analysis shows that despite the assumptions made in favor of collapse continuation, vertical movement of the falling section would be arrested prior to completion of the 3% shortening phase of the impacted columns, and within 0.02 seconds after impact. Conclusion i.e., Collapse stops after 1 floor drop

25 2. Dust Cloud Expansion The North Tower's Dust Cloud: Analysis of Energy Requirements for the Expansion of the Dust Cloud Following the Collapse of 1 World Trade Center Jim Hoffman, January 2004 (v. 3.1)

26 Dust Cloud Expansion But before we get into the expansion of the dust cloud, what about all that dust?

27 Dust Cloud Expansion Concrete in tower: 90,000 tons Pulverize concrete to ~2mm size: 1.5KWh/ton Energy to pulverize to 2mm: 135,000 KWh But energy to pulverize inversely proportional to sqrt of particle diameter, dust 0.06 mm (or less) Sqrt 2 = 1.4, sqrt.06 = factor of 6 So dust creation requires ~ 6x135,000=800,000 Kwh Pulverization Energy

28 Dust Cloud Expansion Somewhere between 135,000 and 800,000 KWh needed FEMA’s report: Tower 1 construction stored more than 111,000 KWh potential energy So not enough energy to pulverize concrete not as fine as observed, much less distribute it in fast-moving large clouds But forget that. There’s more.... Pulverization Energy

29 Dust Cloud Expansion The amount of thermal energy needed to expand the North Tower dust cloud as observed 30 seconds after collapse is far greater than the gravitational potential energy available from the height and mass of the tower. How? Basic idea

30 Dust Cloud Expansion 1.expansion of gases due to heat 2.vaporization of liquids and solids 3.chemical reactions resulting in a net increase in the number of gaseous phase molecules (since this last can only be due to explosives, we’ll ignore it) What can produce expansion?

31 Dust Cloud Expansion 1.Estimate cloud volume at given specific time before diffusion occurs 2.Factor out mixed-in air to get volume of particles of the contents originally in tower 3.Establish ratio of this to the original volume -- i.e., the volume of the tower? 4.How much energy is needed to generate that ratio of expansion for different levels of gas- expansion and liquid/solid vaporization? Analysis steps

32 Dust Cloud Expansion The picture (30 seconds later)The ref points The cylinder: Height: 200’ Radius: 800’

33 Dust Cloud Expansion Cylinder volume: 402 million ft 3 –~1/4 is buildings, so dust = 300 million ft 3 –assume 1/3 is mixed-in air (unlikely -- see next slide) so conservative estimate of Cloud Volume = 200 million ft 3 Speed of advance observed: 25 mph Parameters at 30 sec

34 Dust Cloud Expansion 25 mph is too fast for advance to be diffusion Outside features of cloud were relatively stable, not diffused by m/d Sinking sections replaced by clear air Reports of people being picked up and carried by “solid” wall of hot dust Due to mixing/diffusion?

35 Dust Cloud Expansion Tower volume: 1368’ x 207’ x 207’ = 58.6 million ft 3 Cloud volume: ~200 million ft 3 Expansion ratio: 3.41 (conservative) Expansion in 30 sec

36 Dust Cloud Expansion If pressure and amount (mass) stay the same, volume is proportional to absolute temperature (PV = nRT) If start temp was room temp (300 o K), 3.4 x that is 1020 o K, an increase of 680 o. Raising air that far requires 499,500 KWh (remember: available energy = 111,000) But it gets worse Gas expansion by heat 1

37 Dust Cloud Expansion Such tiny dust particles (10-60 microns) will reach temp equilibrium with surrounding air very fast So you have to raise them 680 o too The 90,000 tons of concrete dust would require > 11 million KWh And if there’s water, it gets worse, but we’ll skip that and treat water separately 1. Gas expansion by heat 2

38 Dust Cloud Expansion 3.4 expansion means 2.4 x tower volume would be created steam: 2.4 x 58 million ft 3 = 141 million ft 3 = 4 billion liters Volume at 100 o C: steam = 1680 x water So 2.4 million liters of water needed to produce the entire cloud volume of steam Conversion would require > 1.5 million KWh Plumbing + concrete + people: not enough 2. Vaporization of water

39 Dust Cloud Expansion Heating of gases: would require 780 o C –Ground level not that hot –High heat apparent higher in cloud (next slide) Water-to-steam: requires too much water, needs additional heat to get to 100 o C first If combined: steam conversion would add to the energy requirement of gas heating, additional head needed for concrete dust Reduction? Early dust settling would reduce needed heat, but cloud behavior contradicts that How much of which?

40 Dust Cloud Expansion “Digital photographs and videos show a bright afterglow with a locus near the center of the cloud, commencing around 17 seconds after the onset of the North Tower's collapse. “Once the afterglow started, the cloud developed large upwelling columns towering to over 600 feet, and the previously gray cloud appeared to glow with a reddish hue.” High Temperatures

41 Dust Cloud Expansion Conservative figures Summary: Energy Sources and Requirements

42 Dust Cloud Expansion They are based on an estimate of dust cloud volume at a time long before the cloud stopped growing. They use a liberal estimate of the contribution of mixing to the volume (1/3). They ignore thermal losses due to radiation. They ignore the resistance to expansion due to the inertia of the suspended materials, and energy requirements to overcome it. Why conservative?

43 Dust Cloud Expansion Conclusion The massive discrepancy between the gravitational energy available and the heat energy needed to drive the expansion of the dust cloud render the gravity explanation for the collapse of the North Tower (and similarly, the South Tower) untenable.

44 3. Beam Ejection 9-11: What Fired 270 Tons Sideways? Dr. Stefan Grossman tons/9- 11_What_Fired_270_Tons_Sideways.htm QysJ: tons/9- 11_What_Fired_270_Tons_Sideways.htm+concrete+tons+"twin+towers"+9/11 &hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=6&gl=ca

45 Beam Ejection Photograph by Michael Rieger taken on 09/18/2001 in New York

46 Beam Ejection World Financial Center WTC1 side (270’) WTC1core-to-WFC3 (694’?)

47 Beam Ejection Building: WFC3 American Express Horizontal distance: 1/10 mile / 160 m Beam weight: 600,000 lbs Vertical distance (conservative): 325 m –North Tower -- use top: 400 m –WFC3 24th floor: 75 m Air resistance: negligible (heavy, spearlike) Parameters

48 Beam Ejection fall time = sqrt (vert-distance / 1/2 gravity) = sqrt (325 m / 4.8 m/sec 2 ) = 8.14 sec horizontal speed = horiz-distance / time = 160 m / 8.14 sec = 71.1 m/sec = 44.2 mph Force to accelerate 300 tons to 44 mph ?? Calculation

49 So we got technical ! 1.NIST’s “pile driver” theory of collapse 2.expansion of the large, fast dust clouds 3.Heavy beams thrown far and fast And guess what? There was not ENOUGH ENERGY available for any of these theories or observations:

50 If gravity didn’t have what it takes, What did?