CounterPunchTells the Facts and Names the Names $2.50 October 16-31, 2006 Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair VOL. 13, NO. 18 On Conspiracies “An oil well fire under a loaded bridge.” By Alexander Cockburn here are plenty of real conspiracies Dark Fire: the Fall of WTC 7 Tin America. Why make up fake ones? Every few years, property czars and city government in New York conspire to By MANUEL GARCIA, Jr. withhold fire company responses, so that right, windless September morn- within a block east of WTC 7. A sec- enough of a neighborhood burns down for ing in Manhattan, looking south tion of the fuselage from that plane fell the poor to quit and for profitable gentri- B and slightly west across Vesey atop WTC 5, the nine-story North Plaza fication to ensue. That’s a conspiracy to Street from the 12th floor of WTC 7. Building east of the US Customs House. commit ethnic cleansing, also murder. The eight story U.S. Customs House (See FEMA 403, “World Trade Center It’s happening today in Brooklyn, (WTC 6) lies directly across the way, Building Performance Study: Data Col- even as similar ethnic cleansing and and beyond it the North Tower (WTC lection, Preliminary Observations, and gentrification are scheduled in San 1), slightly rightward to the west, with Recommendations, (second printing),” Francisco. Bayview Hunters Point is the South Tower (WTC 2) even further September 2002.) the last large black community in the off, left of WTC 1 to the east. Some would wonder, “Am I shud- Bay Area, sitting on bay front property. Then a plane, loud, fast, low, directly dering, or did I feel an earthquake?” So now it’s the time to move the black overhead flying south; the sun glints Seismometers would record the airplane folks out. As Willie Ratcliff, publisher of off the dimpling of its shiny aluminum impacts at local magnitudes 0.9 and 0.7, Bay View writes, “If the big developers painted skin; its 156 ft wingspan over respectively. and their puppets, the mayor [Democrat three quarters the width of a Tower face Phone home, reassure; what to do, Gavin Newsom] and his minions win — puff! The lightning clarity of the mo- work?, only watching out the window is this war, they’ll have made what may be ment blinks, the airplane disappears, an possible, chatter is stunned to silence. the largest urban renewal land grab in orange fireball erupts out of the north People are beginning to jump. Time in the nation’s history: some 2,200 acres of face of WTC 1 engulfing its ninth decade front of you is racing, while time for you San Francisco, the city with the highest of stories. Thinking stops. has stopped. A crack, the top of WTC priced land on earth.” That’s a real con- 2 twists and drops into a gray opacity spiracy, even as many in the Bay Area left Hour = 8:46:30 a.m.; Time = 0. of billowing powder. The South Tower meander through the blind alleys of 9/11 Hurried calls, nervous chatter, ex- collapses. conspiratorialism. citement, fear; transfixed, watching the The conspiracy virus is an old strand. smoke engulf the top of WTC 1; and Hour = 9:58:59 a.m.; Time = 1 Arabs in caves couldn’t have brought then another airplane, flying up from hour, 12.5 minutes down the towers. The Russians couldn’t the south — puff! A blast of dust rushes straight in, the possibly build an A-bomb without Com- The plane disappears into the far side scratching of grit pelting windows and mie traitors. Hitler couldn’t have been of WTC 2, the southern face. A fireball the shattering of glass can be heard, a defeated by the Red Army marching bursts through the north face, consuming veil is drawn over the death of a build- across Eastern Europe and half Germany. the seventh decade of stories. Rocketing ing with too many of its occupants. Traitors let it happen. JFK couldn’t have debris shoots out of the northeast corner WTC 7 shakes, magnitude 2.1; over in been shot by Oswald: it had to be the CIA. — this way?! — it falls short, some 10 seconds. There are no end to examples seeking to whisks past just to the left. Frantic calls home, some flee, time prove that Russians, Arabs, Viet Cong, to lock up the sensitive files and leave Japanese, etc etc couldn’t possibly match Hour = 9:02:59 a.m.; Time = 16.5 before the trains are jammed — are they the brilliance and cunning of secret cabals minutes. still running? Should some of the com- of white Christians. It’s all pathetic, but In time, the landing gear and an puter drives be taken along, for security it does save the trouble of reading and engine thrown out of WTC 2 would be and just in case? Lights go out, power thinking. CP found two and three blocks north, and from Con Edison is cut. The emergency 2/CounterPunch generators kick in, power and phones Time resumes. Some phones are still bedrock and waiting to be used. Thus, work. Another power fault, then some lit, but they make no connection. a series of trusses were designed to power returns. Maybe the dust cloud is Wandering confused, Floor 7, heavy transfer the vertical loads above Floor 7 choking the diesel generator air intakes dust, one cubicle is burning at the west and redistribute them laterally to match along Floor 5, and some units are shut end — flashlights? Firemen! They lead the waiting columns below Floor 4. This down. Crack! — WTC 1 collapses. people down through the choking haze. transition used triangular assemblies of The lobby is layered in white dust, wires structural steel joined into a framework Hour = 10:28:22 a.m.; Time = 1 hang from the ceiling, the street is lit- spanning two stories, Floors 5 & 6. A hour, 42 minutes. tered with wreckage, a huge cloud rolls more detailed description of the three The upper block of WTC 1 drops into all along Vesey Street blocking out the major trusses will be found below. the burning impact zone and ejects a cas- view south. Part of the transition structure in- cade of incandescent metal and heated cluded a Floor 5 made of 11 inches of stone laterally, from near the 97th story Hour = noon; Time = 3 hours, 13.6 reinforced concrete on top of a 3 inch 18 (368 m), at between 12 m/s (27 mph) to minutes. gage composite metal deck (supported 15 m/s (34 mph) during the 1.5 seconds WTC 7 was mortally wounded. In on I beams); Floor 6 was 3 inches of it takes to fall down to the original height 5 hours and 21 minutes, it would col- concrete on a 3 inch 20 gage metal deck; of the 71st story (269 m). lapse. This article is a visualization of the northern half of Floor 7 was 5 inches This hot volley, within the overall what probably happened. Only gods and of reinforced concrete on a 3 inch 18 pyroclastic cannonade discharged by the dead have certainty; we, the living, gage metal deck, and the southern half WTC 1 during its collapse, hurtles at have rationality and courage to guide of Floor 7 was 8 inches of concrete with 86 m/s (193 mph) at a steep angle down us through the puzzles and the perils two layers of reinforcement (no metal into the face of WTC 7 from Floors 18 of life. deck). Floors 8 and up (except 21, 22, to zero. A solid missile — a hot section 23) had 2.5 inches of concrete over 3 of I-beam? — punches into Floors 11 WTC 7: By The Numbers inch 20 gage metal decks. These metal and 12, bursting through the concrete WTC 7 was a 176 m (576 ft) tall, 47 decks were sheets of metal with corru- floors and touching off fires. The eleva- story building with a trapezoidal cross gations (metal thickness listed by gage tor shafts at Floors 8 and 9, about 10 to section (about): 99 m (325 ft) along the number). 15 m (33 to 49 ft) into the building, are north face, 76 m (249 ft) along the south The combination of three massive ruptured and the elevator cars fall out face, 45 m (148 ft) north-south width, floors and interconnected triangular sup- onto the floors. The air pressure wave and 47 m (153 ft) along the east and west ports made the framework of Floor 5 to presses on eardrums, stairwells fill with sides. WTC 7 was about 107 m (350 ft) Floor 7 a diaphragm locking WTC 7 to- dust and smoke, and lights go out, the north of WTC 1, across Vesey Street. gether laterally, core columns and walls building shakes for nearly 10 seconds; B ecause of its uniqueness, a number (encasing elevator shafts and stairwells) magnitude 2.3. of engineering reports have been written to perimeter columns. The construction about the collapse of WTC 7. A consist- of WTC 7 above Floor 7 was similar ent story emerges through the mass of to that of the WTC Towers (9). The ir- Editors detail. The basic model of the WTC 7 col- regular framing between Floors 5 and Alexander Cockburn lapse was stated in the earliest report, by 7 made for less desirable tenant space, Jeffrey St. Clair FEMA, and increasingly amplified upon but it was well protected by the robust by subsequent investigators at NIST construction, an ideal location for the Business — the National Institute of Standards and building’s machinery and the emergency Becky Grant Technology, a federal agency within the power systems. Deva Wheeler U.S. Commerce Department’s Technol- ogy Administration. WTC 7 was built Machine Space and Power Systems Assistant Editor in 1987 over an existing Consolidated Only machinery resided on Floors 5 Alevtina Rea Edison electrical substation. The Con and 6. Floor 6 had two large cut-outs, one Ed substation was three stories high, and along the east side, another in the south- Counselor took up the northern half of the footprint west corner, to allow for two-story me- Ben Sonnenberg of WTC 7. The 1967 construction of the chanical spaces. A set of louvers spanned Published twice monthly except substation accounted for the eventuality the height of Floors 5 and 6 along the August, 22 issues a year of a building above it, and a much larger eastern face of the building. Table 1 lists and stronger foundation was built. Also, the equipment that resided on Floors 5 CounterPunch. a series of columns rose through the area through 9 (ground level is floor 0). All rights reserved. of the substation, for future use. The “tank” noted in the table would CounterPunch The design of WTC 7 was larger than be a 275 gallon diesel fuel tank, the maxi- PO Box 228 anticipated by the provisions of 1967, mum size allowed on any given floor by Petrolia, CA 95558 so additional foundation columns were the NYC Building Code. 1-800-840-3683 (phone) sunk. Also, the placement of columns There were five emergency power [email protected] in WTC 7 above Floor 7 did not match systems in WTC 7. Three of them www.counterpunch.org all the tops of columns connected to (American Express, OEM, U.S. Secret 3/CounterPunch Service) drew fuel from the other two WTC 7 was an evacuated, stricken build- from the New York State Department of and larger systems (Salomon Smith ing. The southwest corner and central Environmental Conservation found that Barney, Silverstein Properties). third of the south face had been ripped “there was a maximum loss of 12,000 The emergency power for the build- open by the cascading debris from the gallons of diesel from two underground ing (Silverstein Properties) was provided collapse of WTC 1. Fires burned in storage tanks registered as WTC 7.” by two 900 kW generators on the south- sections of Floors 6 through 30 at dif- Additionally, “Both tanks were found west corner of Floor 5. They drew fuel ferent times, and they migrated along to be damaged by debris and empty sev- from a 275 gallon tank nearby, and this their floors independently, seeking new eral months after the collapse. Some fuel was replenished by pumps drawing from sources of fuel. From the street the fires contamination was found in the gravel two 12,000 gallon tanks at ground level on Floors 11 and 12 appeared most below the tanks and the sand below the under the loading dock, at the southwest intense. Many fires in the area went slab on which the tanks were mounted, corner of the building. unchecked because utility power for but no contamination was found in the The SSB emergency power system electrical pumps, and water pressure organic marine silt/clay layer under- used nine 1,725 kW generators on Floor for fire engines had either diminished neath.” 5: three in the southwest corner, two near or been lost. By contrast, 20,000 gallons of oil the west end of the north face, four at the This is what happened. were recovered from the two 12,000 gal- east end of the north face. Louvers for lon tanks of Silverstein Properties. air intake and exhaust were situated on A Pumped Oil Spill Pulled up by the emergency pumps, the building faces near the generators. The debris fall ripping into the south- the SSB diesel fuel went, from the 6,000 Because there was already a 275 gallon west corner ruptured the oil pipes of the gallon storage tanks, under the loading “day tank” on this floor, the SSB system SSB pressurized fuel distribution system. dock, under the southwestern part of the building, to floor 5. The energy produced by the leaking It may all have been pumped out by 1 p.m., or it may have been pumped out at a diesel fuel on floor 5 of building 7 was rate as low as 29 gpm for 7 hours. Since this fuel was absent from the wreck- equivalent to that released by an ex- age, it was burned. You can see it as the huge plume of black smoke rising from plosion of 367 tons of TNT. the World Trade Center, in panoramic pumped on demand from their own pair Operating as intended — the lack of util- photographs of that day. Diesel fuel of 6,000 gallon storage tanks, also situ- ity power triggering the “need”, and the can supply 2.13 MW of power per gpm ated under the loading dock, under the lack of pressure due to a severed pipe given an air supply of 1333 cfm (cubic southwestern part of the building. signaling the “demand”, the SSB system feet per minute). The fuel supplier was contracted to pumped oil up from its 12,000 gallon Thus, a diesel fuel gusher of 75 gpm keep the tanks full, and they were full basement reservoir, maximally with a burning with excess air would produce that day. pressure of 50 psi (pounds per square 160 MW of heat; a total energy of 1536 Fuel pipes for all systems except SSB inch) and flow rate of 75 gpm (gallons GJ for the 12,000 gallons. This energy is ran up the western side of the core of the per minute), onto Floor 5. equivalent to that released by an explo- building, along elevator shafts. The SSB Pumping would have started at 9:59 sion of 367 tons of TNT. If the pumping pipes ran up a shaft through mechanical a.m., when Con Ed cut utility power to rate is lower, or the air supply is throttled, spaces near the southwest corner of the WTC 7; and the spilling would have then the burning would occur at a lower building. started a half hour later when the pressu- rate. Since the louver system along Floor rized pipe was cut. The SSB pumps could 5 was designed to supply each of the nine Kindling have drained the two 6,000 gallon tanks SSB engines with 80,000 cfm, it seems After 1 p.m. on September 11, 2001, in 2 hours and 40 minutes. Engineers likely that a fuel oil fire there would find sufficient air for combustion. For Table 1 a discussion of heat at 9/11, and energy Machinery on Floors 5 to 9, WTC 7 units, CounterPunchers will soon be able to have my study, “the Thermodynamics Floor Items of 9/11”, to be published shortly on the CounterPunch website as part of our 9 generator (1 tank) for (tenant) U. S. Secret Service final package on the actual physics and engineering realities of the collapse of 8 generator (1 tank) for (tenant) American Express the WTC buildings. 7 generators (1 tank) for the Mayor’s Office of Emergency Mgt. The diesel fuel spill spread out along Floor 5, which had been partly shielded 6 switchgear, storage from damage by the sturdiness of Floor 7, in addition to its own robustness. 5 (1 tank), switchgear, transformers. The fuel spilled down elevator shafts and breaks near the center of the south 4/CounterPunch Floors 5 and 6, as well as through the The blast of hot debris from WTC 1 kindled opening gouged out of the south face by the debris fall from WTC 1. Air probably fires in WTC 7 and caused an emergency entered the south face along Floors 0 to 5, and smoke exhausted up through the power system to feed the burning to the south face above Floor 5. point of building collapse. The observation of dense smoke ris- ing out of the south face while the other face. Floor 4 has a great deal of open as it existed above Floor 7, and Truss 2 sides remain clear is consistent with an space along its eastern two thirds near was roughly aligned with the east-west airflow entry through the east face lou- the south face. Fuel spilling from above centerline of this core. vers at Floor 5; combustion of vapors in would find an easy route to the eastern The northern edge of the mechanical Floors 3 to 6; heating of the eastern inte- side of the middle of the building down bay on Floors 5 and 6 aligned roughly rior of the building; and smoke billowing to Floor 3. with Truss 1. Truss 2 aligned with the up through the open atriums and lobbies east-west line bisecting the area of this of Floors 3 and 4, and the breached mid- Truss 1, Truss 2 and Truss 3 mechanical bay, but it only extended third of the south face up to about Floor A bicycle frame is a truss supporting from the core region to half the distance 14. See photos, (14) your weight on the axles of the wheels. to the east face. Most of the heat generated would be A truss is a rigid framework of beams The eastern end of Truss 2 was a trapped within the heat capacity of the used to support a bridge, roof or floor. column at the center of the nearly-rec- building’s structure. The maximum heat The beams in a truss are usually joined tangular space mapped out by the eastern we expect here is 1536 GJ, which is half so the empty spaces they enclose have mechanical bay of Floors 5 and 6. This (51%) of that released in the WTC 2 fire triangular and rectangular shapes. A truss particular column was Column 80. The (3000 GJ) and one-fifth (19%) of the transfers the weight it supports along its columns rising out of Truss 2 were Col- WTC 1 fire (8000 GJ). span, laterally out to its ends where this umns 80, 77 and 74, from east to west. By estimating volumes and cross- weight is then carried by columns or Recall, the pattern of columns below sectional areas of metal and concrete foundations into the ground. A truss is Floor 4 did not match the pattern above in walls and floors in the WTC Towers, how structural engineers shift vertical Floor 7; for example there was no con- I arrived at a provisional estimate for loads laterally to distant supports. Many tinuation of Column 77 (middle of Truss the iron and concrete that made up the railroad bridges are trusses, hollow rec- 2) below Floor 4. framework of the WTC buildings. I cal- tangular space defined by a network of Truss 3 was another formidable culate that the totality of these materials beams joined in a triangulated fashion, structure, and it occupied a similar zone — let’s call it “ironcrete,” a mixture of and through which trains move. at the western end of the building; it 72% iron and 28% concrete — takes A folding ladder opened into an “A was aligned in the north-south direction. up 5.4% of the volume of the building, frame” is a truss. It supports your weight Diagrams of these trusses may help to the other 94.6% being air. We assume and, say, a can of paint near the top, by visualize the distribution of gravity loads that everything else in the building is transferring the downward force out to in WTC 7. the feet of the A. It relies on a horizontal combustible or an inert material, and the combined mass and volume of these bar connecting the sloping legs to resist Dark Fire are insignificant compared to the mass the lateral force pushing the A to open Oil pooled in the vicinity of Truss 2. and volume of ironcrete. However, the and the top to drop. It was ignited by local office fires, and fires in the Towers occurred within WTC 7 had three major trusses, two this burning heated the volumes occupied larger volumes. Continuing the “iron- at the eastern end of the building, and one by the spill, further volatilizing combus- crete” example, let us assume that heat at the western end. These trusses trans- tible hydrocarbon materials. Air entered ferred gravity loads carried by columns the fire through the louver system of (Dark Fire continued on page 6) above Floor 7, laterally to the positions of columns below Floor 4. These trusses Table 2 supported relatively large floor areas WTC Ironcrete Examples above Floor 7 for the number of columns below Floor 4. Item Units WTC 1 WTC 2 WTC 7 Truss 1 and Truss 2 were aligned roughly along the east-west direction, energy GJ 8000 3000 768 parallel and along side each other when viewed from the north-south direction. solid volume m^3 5210 3473 810 Truss 1 was recessed from the north face by over 1/3 of the width of the energy density MJ/m^3 1536 864 948 building, Truss 2 was recessed from the south face by over 1/3 of the width of temperature rise C 549 309 339 the building. Truss 1 was roughly aligned with duration minutes 102 56 180-420 the northern edge of the building core 5/CounterPunch Ending the Violence in the Israel/Palestine Conflict What’s in a Road Map? By Michael Neumann he U.S.A., Israel and several West perhaps it’s something to consider when remain in place until complete withdrawal, ern powers demand that Hamas re people wonder why the Palestinians “aren’t or resumption of Palestinian violence, T nounce violence and recognize the more reasonable”. And there’s nothing whichever came first. state of Israel. quirky about it: it’s the sort of plan the U.N. Once the withdrawal was complete, Here’s the problem: violence is the would almost certainly endorse were it not that is to say, once every last Israeli sol- only pressure the Palestinians can exert on for opposition by a few Western powers. dier had left the occupied territories, the Israel. No one else is applying any pres- First, all Western countries would Palestinians would be asked to recognize sure, of any sort. Suppose the Palestinians suspend all military, economic and finan- Israel. Assuming they agreed, they would did indeed renounce violence and recog- cial aid to Israel, until such time as Israel get sovereignty over their own territory nize the state of Israel. Why would Israel withdraws completely from every inch of and, therefore, the right to do what they have any reason to do anything other than the occupied territories, including East thought fit there, within the limits of such what it pleases? Jerusalem. (Since it would take a while international rules as the Geneva Conven- There are perhaps some limits on this. for the suspension to happen, Israel would tion. Of course this power would extend to Perhaps Israel would not dare actually to have plenty of advance notice, and could the settlements. wipe out the Palestinians, or push them easily withdraw before any action was This, I think, would be a realistic peace over some border at the cost of many thou- taken.) The suspension would be initiated process. Israel would have an incentive to sands of Palestinian lives. Suppose this is unilaterally, meaning it would actually be make peace, as would the Palestinians. true. Nevertheless Israel would have not put into place unilaterally, without any Isn’t that what’s needed to bring an end to the slightest incentive to change any of its negotiations. It would be in force for one terror in Palestine? CP present conduct. In that case, the Palestin- week, after which time it would be dropped ians would continue to starve, and the unless the Palestinians suspended all vio- Michael Neumann teach philosophy settlements would continue to expand. lent attacks on Israel or Israelis – except, of at Trent University. He is the author of This would be a heavenly gift to Israel. course, as a response to Israeli attacks. The Case Against Israel, published by There are Israelis who do not support the These measures would be absolutely CounterPunch/AK Press. settlements or the occupation, but these essential to demonstrate that, at long last, people are no problem for the government the West was serious about its much- because they’re not about to bring it down. proclaimed desire to end violence in this Why would they, given that their greatest tragic conflict. Unlike past proposals, both SUBSCRIPTION INFO fear, Palestinian violence, had ended? On sides would now have a real incentive to One year $40 the contrary, they’d have every reason to make peace. Two yrs $70 support the current régime, because the Suppose the Palestinians did indeed Email only (1 year) $35 Israeli economy would flourish. Military suspend all attacks after one week. Then Both Email & Print $45 expenditures would decline, social spend- Israel would have another week in which to Institution/supporters $100 ing could increase, and tourism as well as announce its intention to effect a complete One year student/low income, $30 T-shirts, $18 investment would boom. withdrawal of all military forces from the Back issues ($5 each) As for the settlers and their supporters, occupied territories, regardless of whether Name______they’d be very happy too. So all Israelis, at the settlers left. These forces would have to least all Jewish Israelis, would be having a be withdrawn, under the sanctions, within Address______great time, while the Palestinians starved. another three weeks. But suppose “we” really do want the If the announcement was not forthcom- ______Palestinians to renounce violence and ing, or if the withdrawal was not completed recognize Israel. Suppose we want peace on time, the sanctions would intensify. All City/State/Zip______in Palestine. That would require something shipments, travel and communications to more practical than asking the Palestinians and from Israel, including financial trans- Credit Card Info______to sign their own death warrant. And it actions, would cease, except for strictly would require something more practical humanitarian aid. Payment must accompany order, or dial than all the well-intentioned plans for The situation would be roughly what 1-800-840-3683 and renew by credit card. Add $12.50 for Canadian and $17.50 for negotiated settlements that Israel sees no prevailed in Iraq after the first Gulf war. interest in pursuing. foreign subscriptions. If you want Coun- Naturally enforcing these sanctions would terPunch emailed to you please supply Let’s look at a “road map” that might require a robust international military your email address. Make checks payable actually lead somewhere. It won’t be im- presence on Israel’s borders, assuming its to: CounterPunch plemented in the foreseeable future, but neighbors agreed. The sanctions would Business Office (Dark Fire continued from page 4) metal supports within continuing fires to to the diaphragm, is stored in the structure of WTC 7, that heat up by much more than the average • lack of vertical support through has a volumetric heat capacity of Cv = amount estimated here. the diaphragm progresses up the interior 2.8*10^6 joules/(Centigrade*m^3). The thermal energy density is near of the building west of Truss 2 (and/or Trapping heat in an ironcrete matrix 1000 MJ/m^3 in all three examples, Truss 1), can be thought of as the charging of a which correspond (as highly simplified • the difference in collapse timing thermal battery. idealizations) to three buildings that col- east and west of Truss 2 creates a vertical If the WTC 1 fire was concentrated in lapsed because of thermal weakening of crack/crease/kink/fold/break through the 6 stories, with a total volume of 96,480 their frames. Perhaps this observation building above Truss 2 (Column 80), m^3, then the volume of ironcrete would can help to estimate the risks posed by • a progressive collapse propagates be 5210 m^3, and its average temperature potential fires elsewhere. up and material falls freely, rise would be 549 C. • since the building implodes, exte- If the WTC 2 fire was concentrated in Heat Exhaustion rior walls falls in. 4 stories, with a total volume of 64,320 To sum up: The blast of hot debris m^3, then the volume of ironcrete would from WTC 1 kindled fires in WTC 7 and be 3473 m^3, and its average temperature caused an emergency power system to rise would be 309 C. The fall of WTC 7 feed the burning to the point of building If we assume the oil fire in WTC 7 was caused by an collapse. occurs on the eastern third of the floor One of the building’s major bridg- space of three floors, then the volume of oil well fire under a ing supports was heated to the point of the oil fire equals that of one floor, which exhaustion by the burning of an abundant is roughly 15,000 m^3. In this case, the loaded bridge. store of hydrocarbon fuel. CP ironcrete volume is 810 m^3, and its temperature rise is 677 C. This estimate All of the structural analysis done by Manuel Garcia works as a physicist assumes all the energy of combustion FEMA and NIST points to a failure of at the Lawrence Livermore National contained in the fuel oil is released and Truss 1 or Truss 2 — Truss 2 seems more Laboratory in California with a PhD captured by the structure; clearly, an likely to me — as the initiating failure in Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering, overestimate. WTC 7. The sequence is as follows: from Princeton. His technical interests If we assume that up to half of the • thermal weakening of Truss 2 leads are generally in gas dynamics and plasma combustion energy is lost, because to its failure, physics; and his working experience the air is throttled, and because fuel • the loss of support low in the eastern includes measurements on nuclear bomb vapors are lost to the atmosphere (as interior propagates to the roof, tests, devising mathematical models of hot, smoky pollution), then we arrive • the weight (and dynamic force) energetic physical effects, and trying to at 768 GJ released within 3 to 7 hours, of material falling onto the diaphragm enlarge a union of weapons scientists. We producing an ironcrete temperature rise on Floor 5 tips this rigid layer of the will be publishing our series on 9/11 in of 339 C. Since the flame temperature building, full on our site later this year, with a full is about 1100 C (2000 F), we can expect • this causes failure of column joints apparatus of footnotes and citations.

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