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Creative Speculation
In reply to the discussion: The Great Thermite Debate... [View all]William Seger
(11,944 posts)104. "didn't even bother to look for evidence of explosives and/or incendiaries"
        That is not true. They did not chemically TEST for explosives and/or incendiaries because there was no reason to suspect them. But all of the steel was visually inspected by a team of private-citizen volunteer scientists and engineers at ground zero and at the recycling site, and none of it showed the distinctive characteristics that explosives and incendiaries would have left behind.
The official report is extremely credible to rational people, especially when compared to the implausible scenarios and imaginary evidence offered by irrational "truthers" when they try to reason backwards from a conclusion that they can't substantiate.
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        Thanks, for the breezier read ... but, "thermate" didn't break the government's case for me ... 
        T S Justly
        Dec 2011
        #36
      
        
        That half-informed crap about aluminum glowing red probably came from Rush Limbaugh.
        GoneFishin
        Jan 2014
        #293
      
        
        That's the half-information I was referring to. But some here may be fooled, so good luck to you. nt
        GoneFishin
        Jan 2014
        #297
      
        
        I couldn't care less about the burden on Jones & Co.  They're not here, and they're not going to be 
        Ace Acme
        Dec 2013
        #156
      
        
        Right. Lack of evidence is no reason for you not to believe what you want to believe.  nt
        Ace Acme
        Dec 2013
        #168
      
        
        "they would not collapse neatly into a small pile using conventional demolition"
        Bolo Boffin
        Dec 2011
        #19
      
        
        We were talking about WTC7.  You claimed you had an FEA that showed that the columns could not
        Ace Acme
        Dec 2013
        #153
      
        
        The sims bear no resemblance to reality.  The real tower did not tip until the last phase
        Ace Acme
        Dec 2013
        #169
      
        
        You claimed in 158 that the sim animations of WTC7 showed tipping to the south.
        Ace Acme
        Dec 2013
        #172
      
        
        The tipping CAN be seen in the animation of the "with impact damage" sim
        William Seger
        Dec 2013
        #174
      
        
        Oh, it's the smileybot, back to demonstrate his erudition and analytical facility
        Ace Acme
        Dec 2013
        #220
      
        
        Yeah. But even that citation about the towers used the word "must" so many times
        GoneFishin
        Jan 2014
        #294
      
        
        He's prevaricating. Just as I stated. If you can't spot a snowjob it's fine with me. There may be
        GoneFishin
        Jan 2014
        #298
      
        
        As soon as you stop playing silly games and deal with your misrepresentations
        Bolo Boffin
        Dec 2011
        #35
      
        
        Another thing not found in the rubble was steel that had been heated to the extent that NIST assumed
        eomer
        Dec 2011
        #42
      
        
        First, "... none of the samples were from zones where such heating was predicted.”
        William Seger
        Dec 2011
        #43
      
        
        That's not stating it precisely right - the samples they found DID match their predictions.
        Bolo Boffin
        Dec 2011
        #46
      
        
        Oh, well, the samples that were found also matched the predictions of the thermite theory.
        eomer
        Dec 2011
        #47
      
        
        That is the data that the model was fitted to in the first place.  It confirms nothing.
        eomer
        Dec 2011
        #49
      
        
        You were expecting they'd find a model that wouldn't fit what physical evidence they had?
        Bolo Boffin
        Dec 2011
        #52
      
        
        So a rigorous mathematical and professional modeling of the WTC tower structures checked
        Bolo Boffin
        Dec 2011
        #75
      
        
        Choosing the model that agreed the closest with all visual and physical evidence is circular?
        Bolo Boffin
        Dec 2011
        #78
      
        
        The modeling that was "within the margin of error" includes collapse and no collapse.
        eomer
        Jan 2012
        #83
      
        
        I hesitated to reply because I think this is going to be difficult to work through.
        eomer
        Jan 2012
        #84
      
        
        maybe part of the problem here is "the big question they were trying to answer"
        OnTheOtherHand
        Jan 2012
        #85
      
        
        I'm arguing, rather, that NIST didn't demonstrate that therm*te wasn't *needed*.
        eomer
        Jan 2012
        #100
      
        
        the way this thread (and the broader "debate") has gone, I think the distinction is huge
        OnTheOtherHand
        Jan 2012
        #127
      
        
        I still don't see the distinction between would and did, but let me not use that word.
        eomer
        Jan 2012
        #128
      
        
        Engineers were pressured "to take off [their] engineering hat and put on [their] management hat".
        eomer
        Jan 2012
        #126
      
        
        But those column temperatures did not play any part in collapse initiation
        William Seger
        Dec 2011
        #66
      
        
        That is one aspect of the model.  Do you seriously propose that you can choose parts of the model
        eomer
        Dec 2011
        #74
      
        
        I'm "proposing" that the temperature of the columns did not affect the floor sagging
        William Seger
        Dec 2011
        #80
      
        
        Those temperatures are an integral part of the model and one that NIST spent several pages on.
        eomer
        Jan 2012
        #82
      
        
        Well, actually, he only proved that he could cut a little way through a small steel beam
        William Seger
        Dec 2011
        #62
      
        
        That was just a weld that he managed to unweld, not cutting through a column.
        William Seger
        Dec 2011
        #67
      
        
        "didn't even bother to look for evidence of explosives and/or incendiaries"
        William Seger
        Jan 2012
        #104
      
        
        Nonsense. The only reason to test for explosives in any of those cases...
        William Seger
        Jan 2012
        #117
      
        
        Far from being insane, it was proposed by experts immediately after the collapses,
        Ace Acme
        Dec 2013
        #146
      
        
        If you're citing Downey as your expert, shouldn't you be the one quoting him?
        William Seger
        Dec 2013
        #161
      
        
        I cited Romero to the effect that a few charges in key places could have brought the buildings down.
        Ace Acme
        Dec 2013
        #163
      
        
        I'm not a metallurgist.  You seemed to be dismissive of the test results that were available,
        Ace Acme
        Dec 2013
        #238
      
        
        So you're suggesting that there were not other, more edifying tests that could have been done
        Ace Acme
        Dec 2013
        #247
      
        
        It was the one that showed heating to only 480 F.  The other tests did not counterindicate that.  nt
        Ace Acme
        Dec 2013
        #259
      
        
        The Saudet video shows that the antenna fell 18 feet before the building started falling.
        Ace Acme
        Dec 2013
        #265
      
        
        No it doesn't.  The top of the N. wall would be moving if the building were tilting.
        Ace Acme
        Dec 2013
        #270
      
        
        Since your gif begins at the moment the tilt begins, we have no way of knowing
        Ace Acme
        Dec 2013
        #278
      
        
        Who cares what an anonymous internet poster thinks?  We need new investigations.
        Ace Acme
        Dec 2013
        #228
      
        
        So the anonymous internet poster who says we shouldn't listen to anonymous internet posters...
        AZCat
        Dec 2013
        #230
      
        
        I expect reasonable people to look at the facts, to look at the demonstrably incomplete and corrupt
        Ace Acme
        Dec 2013
        #239
      
        
        Any kind of job that demands conformity, obedience, and avoidance of controversy.
        Ace Acme
        Dec 2013
        #251
      
        
        If you had bothered to read Appendix C you would know that the sulfidated steel does melt at 1000 C.
        Ace Acme
        Dec 2013
        #266
      
        
        The eutectic mixture liquefies the steel at a temperature below its normal melting point.
        Ace Acme
        Dec 2013
        #276
      
        
        The eutectic mixture includes the iron from the steel.  That's why the steel liquefies.
        Ace Acme
        Dec 2013
        #282
      
        
        If the eutectic melting happened at 1000C you still have to explain where the sulfur came from,
        Ace Acme
        Dec 2013
        #285
      
        
        Calcium Sulfate is not a possible source.   It's already fully oxidized.  It's inert.
        Ace Acme
        Dec 2013
        #289
      
        
        The steel was subject to a high-temperature sulfidation attack causing intergranular melting.
        Ace Acme
        Dec 2013
        #255
      
        
        So with Mr. Cole's report you discount what he did say and deny the evidence on specious grounds.
        Ace Acme
        Dec 2013
        #264
      
        
        So run some thermate on some steel and show that it's not the same as the FEMA samples.  nt
        Ace Acme
        Dec 2013
        #286
      
        
        You're the one claiming that Mr. Cole's sulfidation attack on the steel is not the same as WPI's
        Ace Acme
        Dec 2013
        #290
      
        
        "I try to avoid having conclusive opinions and instead stick to established facts"
        zappaman
        Dec 2013
        #189
      
        
        Sorry, you can't build a case based on an expectation of government competence
        BlueStreak
        Dec 2013
        #200
      
        
        How do you know FBI protocols abot ignoring warnings?  You must be highly placed.
        Ace Acme
        Dec 2013
        #204
      
        
        You don't need charges on the fire floors.  WTC1 came apart in floors above the fire floors.
        Ace Acme
        Dec 2013
        #187
      
        
        If there's reprogramable det sequences, that can all be adjusted after the fact
        Ace Acme
        Dec 2013
        #193
      
        
        Radio control needn't interfere with other equipment if the frequency was chosen carefully,
        Ace Acme
        Dec 2013
        #206
      
        
        I could make microprocessor-based detonators.  Probably 400,000 people in the USA could.
        Ace Acme
        Dec 2013
        #208
      
  