Twin Tower explosions explained

[Cute Tink]

With the plane positioned somewhere in the middle of the building, blanketed in debris and with no route for heat to escape, the temperature would have rapidly escalated, reaching 660 degrees Celsius (1,220 degrees Fahrenheit), the melting point of aluminum — of which there was 30 tons in each plane fuselage — within an hour. The molten aluminum would then have heated up further to between 800 and 850 C (1,470 and 1,560 F). "Then molten aluminum becomes [as liquid as] water and has so much heat that it will flow through cracks in the floor and down to the next floor," Simensen explained in an email. There was an automatic sprinkler system installed in each ceiling, and it was filled with water. "When huge amount of molten aluminum gets in contact with water, a fierce exothermic reaction will take place, enormous amount of hydrogen is formed and the temperature is locally raised to 1,200 to 1,500 C," or 2,200 to 2,700 F.

New Twin Tower Collapse Model Could Squash 9/11 Conspiracies - Yahoo! News


Matter to any conspiracy theorists out there?

 

[Belk]

New Twin Tower Collapse Model Could Squash 9/11 Conspiracies - Yahoo! News


Matter to any conspiracy theorists out there?

If it did I don't think they would be conspiracy theorists. The normal hallmark of a conspiracy theorist is to have the idea and then only accept evidence that reinforces said idea. Evidence that contridicts the idea is dismissed out of hand (Or some excuse is found to deny the information).

 

[Cute Tink]

You're probably right, but for those who believe because the explosion sounds couldn't be explained, it might bring them back around.

 

[FrenchyBearpaw]

Does the report indicate why WTC #7 collapsed at near free fall speed?

 

[Saving Hawaii]

New Twin Tower Collapse Model Could Squash 9/11 Conspiracies - Yahoo! News

Matter to any conspiracy theorists out there?

I admit that when I saw the thread title I cringed, but thank you for posting this.

It's also interesting to me, I'll need to look more into this, but the conclusions of this theory could affect the fire behavior within the towers. You have a tremendous increase in the amount of heat within an enclosed space. This can easily push you into flashover conditions if you weren't there already. Flashover is when the products of incomplete combustion (e.g. carbon monoxide) are heated to the temperature at which they burn and they ignite. At that moment the atmosphere within the room literally burns. If you reach flashover conditions in an oxygen-depleted environment (which may be relevant here) and then suddenly introduce oxygen you'll experience a backdraft. I'd also note that not only do you have a change in fire behavior here, but this theory also provides that a significant amount of water was exposed to extreme heat just as the fire behavior would have changed. This is important. Water expands to 1800x its original volume when you turn it to steam. Get it even hotter (hot like the temperatures described here) and you might be looking at 2500x its original volume or even more. That's an explosion. Ever throw a cup of water in a hot fireplace and watch as burning debris flies back into your face? Same effect. I'll need to read the report, but I do wonder if they consider these factors which should lend support to their theory.

 

[AV1611VET]

You're probably right, but for those who believe because the explosion sounds couldn't be explained, it might bring them back around.

But were they explosions, or were they expansions?

 

[Incariol]

New Twin Tower Collapse Model Could Squash 9/11 Conspiracies - Yahoo! News


Matter to any conspiracy theorists out there?

I hate to say this, but 90% of the population probably doesn't remember/know enough chemistry to understand that.

 

[AV1611VET]

I hate to say this, but 90% of the population probably doesn't remember/know enough chemistry to understand that.

Why do you hate to say that?

 

[Incariol]

Why do you hate to say that?

Because I'm depressed that I actually believe most people don't understand how mixing liquid aluminum and liquid H2O would result in a highly exothermic reaction that results in increased gaseous hydrogen in the environment.

 

[Saving Hawaii]

But were they explosions, or were they expansions?

What is an explosion but a rapid expansion? Is there a difference?

 

[Saving Hawaii]

Because I'm depressed that I actually believe most people don't understand how mixing liquid aluminum and liquid H2O would result in a highly exothermic reaction that results in increased gaseous hydrogen in the environment.

I don't understand how "..." Doesn't make me a troofer. Not all of us can specialize in every single field of human knowledge.

What depresses me is that some people don't realize that they don't know everything and will dismiss the people who understand "..." in favor of their own inane pet conspiracy theories.

 

[AV1611VET]

What is an explosion but a rapid expansion? Is there a difference?

Some Internet scientists like to think there is.

 

[AV1611VET]

Because I'm depressed that I actually believe most people don't understand how mixing liquid aluminum and liquid H2O would result in a highly exothermic reaction that results in increased gaseous hydrogen in the environment.

You'd think those scientists who designed those two buildings would have thought of that, wouldn't you?

 

[Incariol]

You'd think those scientists who designed those two buildings would have thought of that, wouldn't you?

Why the heck would they have ever thought of that? You honestly think the engineers should have anticipated terrorists slamming aluminum planes into the side of their towers? Really?

 

[AV1611VET]

Why the heck would they have ever thought of that? You honestly think the engineers should have anticipated terrorists slamming aluminum planes into the side of their towers? Really?

Hey -- you're the one depressed about it, not I.

 

[Saving Hawaii]

Some Internet scientists like to think there is.

That's a pathetic response. Care to elaborate?

 

[AV1611VET]

That's a pathetic response. Care to elaborate?

Not really -- you don't even know what I'm getting at, do you?

It might take a week, but you'll get it --

 

[FrenchyBearpaw]

Why the heck would they have ever thought of that? You honestly think the engineers should have anticipated terrorists slamming aluminum planes into the side of their towers? Really?

The engineers designed the twin towers to withstand exactly airplanes slamming into them. There is an interview with one of the architects on YouTube where he makes an analogy of a pencil through a screen, only the impact site is damaged, and not the entire building.

 

[Saving Hawaii]

Not really -- you don't even know what I'm getting at, do you?

Like the "Arab phone" thing, nobody gets what you're "getting at". That's what happens when you bury your ideas and concepts under ten feet of vague and convoluted text.

Why not try plain English? It works for everyone else.

 

[Gracchus]

The first thing you must ask about the collapse of the World Trade Center should be, "Cui bono?"