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Re:9/11 tragedy pager intercepts by marcamillion on Tuesday September 11, 2012 @04:16AM (#4504331)
Hrmm....that's an interesting conclusion.

How are you sure that they wouldn't be able to use "more than enough" explosives though? 1/10 of a ton of TNT on each floor, sounds like a lot...but doesn't sound like an enormous amount.

Can you put that in terms that a layman may understand?

Thanks.

P.S. I would love more details, so that I can properly refute these claims based on physics and facts - than just based on philosophy and intuition.

Re:9/11 tragedy pager intercepts by ars on Tuesday September 11, 2012 @04:28AM (#4504362)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controlled_Demolition,_Inc. says it took 12 pounds of explosives to demolish a 2,000,000 pound tower.

1/10 of a ton (200 pounds) of explosives is a staggering amount in comparison. The energy involved in the building falling down swamps the explosives by such a large degree that you couldn't even tell the difference.

Remember that the fire did the same thing that a controlled explosion would do: Weaken the central support. The fire by softening the metal, an explosion by cutting it.

A controlled demolition does not actually explode the building, all it does is weaken the support, and gravity does the rest.