Posted on 08/30/2006 12:57:41 PM PDT by nickcarraway
The government is taking the unusual step of responding to conspiracy theories about the destruction of the World Trade Center.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST, Gaithersberg, Md.), which investigated the causes of the collapse of the twin towers, said Wednesday (Aug. 30) that it has posted a "fact sheet" addressing alternatve theories about the fires and collapse. Several academics have put forth a "controlled demolition" and missile attack hypotheses for the destruction of the towers.
NIST concluded after a three-year building and fire safety investigation that the towers collapsed after being hit by separate, fuel-laden aircraft flown by terrorists. The impacts severed and damaged support columns, dislodging fireproofing insulation and dispersing jet fuel over multiple floors of each tower.
The resulting fire, which reached temperatures as high as 1,000 degrees C, weakened floors and columns, causing upper floors to collapse after sagging and pulling inward on perimeter columns. "This led to the inward bowing of the perimeter columns and failure of the south face of WTC 1 and the east face of WTC 2, initiating the collapse of each of the towers," NIST concluded.
NIST's probe rejected claims that upper floors "pancaked" on top of lower floors, causing the collapses. Other investigations pointed to huge amounts of office supplies, especially paper, as a source of fuel that significantly raised the temperature of tower fires beyond those that jet fuel would normally burn outside of an aircraft engine combustion chamber.
"Both photographic and video evidence—as well as accounts from the New York Police Department aviation unit during a half-hour period prior to collapse—support this sequence for each tower." NIST concluded.
Far more controversial are theories about explosions inside the towers. Conspiracy theorists postulate that puffs of smoke seen at the time of each collapse are evidence of a controlled demolition. Critics of the official probe also cited seismic data they claim showed evidence of explosions just before each tower collapsed. Other theories alleged missiles were fired at the doomed towers.
While both NIST and the 9/11 Commission have dismissed these theories, U.S. officials have been compelled to address allegations widely disseminated on the Internet.
"NIST respects the opinions of others who do not agree with the findings in its report on the [World Trade Center] collapses," the agency said in a statement. "However, the WTC Investigation Team stands solidly behind the collapse mechanisms for each tower and the sequences of events (from aircraft impact to collapse) as described in the report."
Read the bloody report linked in the article that was posted, then report back as to what, exactly, it is that you don't grasp...
Can you point to any other building that has fallen that was designed in even remotely the same way as the WTC?
Give it up man, the government just isn't that smart.
I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. Yes, to the jetliner question...a DC8, not a 767.
5.56mm
Could you please summarize your architectural and/or civil engineering credentials, and give a detailed explanation of why it's suspicious. Said explanation should not refer to your own erroneous claims that have been corrected.
Please note that you have opened this particular line of conversation on 9/11 more than once, you have been corrected more than once, but you continue to persistently post the same nonfactual allegations over and over again.
I think it's time you laid your cards on the table. What, specifically, is your agenda?
Seen a lot of buildings that have been hit by airplanes and burned with jet fuel for an hour have you? Here's a question for you. If George Bush is so stupid, he would have to have hired experts plan the demolition, right? Why didn't these experts plan the demolition to look like an accident and fall exactly like all the conspiracy theorist experts think it would fall? Why didn't they make the buildings fall to the side like a tree falling like all the "Charlie Sheen" experts expected?
Look up and try to understand the concept of annealing. Hint: Metal doesn't need to be molten to bend.
...and I'm quite sure you've lapped up the conspiracy theory about a little skinny guy in a cave from the ME directing his little band of followers in a successful attack against a military power that spends hundreds of billions per year in defense? Oh yeah, and explain to me just how lucky he was to pick the exact time day and time NORAD had selected to run their "Vigilant Guardian" drill that left the E. Coast so exposed.
Not something I've tried... not something I'm going to try! :P
A: NYT
Up to a 727 at most, and they also failed to take the jet fuel into account when they designed the building. They didn't take into consideration having both towers collapsing completely and dumping large amounts of flaming debris onto the building when they designed WTC 7.
Again, what, exactly, is your agenda? Are you merely speaking from ignorance? Or are you speaking from maliciousness?
Maybe......but from the picture I saw the WTC7 did not seem inordinately damaged.
Hot enough to reduce the steel's strength to about 10% of normal.
At 2700 degrees, you have raised the temp of steel to its welding point. This is far beyond the point at which it loses most of its load bearing capacity. Steel can be forge worked as low as a dull red (in the 900 degree) range as it is mostly plastic at even this low of a temp.
Ok, now you are going to have to take some classes on serendipity and coincidence as explained by Dr. Carl Jung.
See post #48. The agena lies therein.
What NONE of them tell you is that those fires have burnt through from the OTHER side of WTC7 that was the actual side facing WTC1 and 2 and took most of the damage.
Take your 9/11 denyer BS and shove it.
Of course, this is how the towers failed...this also had to be the reason the other buildings surrounding this complex because of those towers falling...created severe weakness in that whole complex...causing the other buildings to go down...
Of course! (smacking forehead) How could I have missed that?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.