New Theory on World Trade Center Collapse Blames Explosive Chemical Reaction

Wednesday, September 21, 2011 - 17:00 in Physics & Chemistry

The WTC on 9/11/2001 Could chemical reactions within the burning buildings have caused the eventual collapse of the Twin Towers? Michael Foran via WikimediaMolten aluminum mixing with water could have ultimately brought the towers down More than ten years after the fact, a scientists based at the Norwegian research institute SINTEF is proposing that a well-documented chemical reaction spelled the ultimate demise of the Twin Towers after the attacks of September 11, 2001. This isn't another conspiracy theory, nor is it proven fact. But Christian Simensen theorizes that a mix of molten aluminum from the aircraft bodies mixed with water from the sprinkler systems could have catalyzed secondary blasts that brought the World Trade Center towers to the ground. Simensen's idea, presented at a materials technology conference in San Diego this week, is thus: after the planes impacted the WTC towers, tons of molten aluminum ran down into the floors below the...

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