9/11 UPDATE: Why the Twin Towers Collapsed: New Theory

Just before the two skyscrapers collapsed on September 11, 2001, powerful explosions within the building could be heard, Photo: Jim Collins / AP / SCANPIX

Twin Towers attackWhy the Twin Towers collapsed: new theory

Published 22 September 2011

Materials scientist says that a mixture of water from sprinkler systems and molten aluminum from melted aircraft hulls created explosions that led to the collapse of the Twin Towers on 9/11

Just before the two New York skyscrapers collapsed on 11 September 2001, powerful explosions within the building could be heard, leading many people to believe that overheated steel beams in the building were not the cause of the collapse.

The explosions fed the conspiracy theories that someone had placed explosives inside the towers.

At an international materials technology conference in San Diego, senior scientist Christian Simensen of SINTEF Materials and Chemistry present an alternative theory, based on the physics of materials, of what happened in the towers when they were attacked by the aircraft. Siemensen believes that his theory is much more likely to reflect the actual situation than the official explanation of the collapse.

In the wake of the conference Simensen had an article published in the journal Aluminum International Today, describing his theory.  Full story

SEARCH and RESCUE TECHNOLOGY: Saving Victims Trapped Under Concrete

http://www.raytheon.com/capabilities/products/cirt/

New tool allow first responders to reach those trapped beneath concrete more quickly; the tool generates a high-energy jolt to create a contained hole in the concrete; a series of these holes allows the creation of an area large enough to deliver vital supplies such as food, water, and medicine to victims before first responders are able to get victims to safety.


When the twin towers collapsed on 11 September 2001, one of the challenges that first responders faced was cutting through concrete to get to victims trapped under debris — a common problem when tragedy strikes.

Breaching reinforced concrete has long been a race against time when relying on drills, saws, and jackhammers – a race which those trapped under slabs of concrete, and those who were trying to rescue them, often lost.

DHS’s Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) has developed a new tool to help fire departments and search-and-rescue teams better deal with such challenges in the wake of natural and man-made disasters.

In 2007 S&T led the development of the Controlled Impact Rescue Tool (CIRT), designed to cut through concrete with speed and precision. The CIRT uses blank ammunition cartridges to drive a piston that generates a high-energy jolt to create a contained hole in the concrete. A series of these holes allows the creation of an area large enough to deliver vital supplies such as food, water, and medicine to victims before first responders are able to get victims to safety.  Read more.