purgatoryironworks
2 HN recommenders · recommended in 4 months, 2017–2023
2:08 · 14M views · Dec 15, 2015
A short video from a blacksmith, who heats and bends steel to rebut the claim that jet fuel could not weaken the steel in the World Trade Center. It is delivered with a lot of attitude.
HN commenters use it as a quick, hands-on demonstration that steel loses strength well below its melting point.
4 comments from Hacker News
Been in a coma for two decades? [LINK] > The four sides of each building formed a tube with window slots This tube was designed to carry the weight of the building and its contents directly downward to the foundations. The walls acted as vertical beams, wide and tall as the buildings, that bent to the side to absorb wind loads. [LINK] > Prior to the construction of the Twin Towers, skyscrapers were designed to support themselves through large internal columns spaced about 30 feet (9 meters) apart, which interrupted the flow of interior space. For this project however, the engineers came up with a different solution -- the exterior walls themselves would support the bulk of the structure, and they would get a boost from one single column of beams in the center. Make a big hole in the primary support structure and things go badly. (And before parroting the "jet fuel doesn't melt steel beams" thing as a follow-up, watch this excellent and short video from a blacksmith: this video )
This video disproves that conspiracy theory, and with just the right amount of "WTF-you-truthers-are-idiots" attitude: this video
> claiming jet fuel can't melt steel beams Just note: Jet Fuel probably can't melt steel beams, because steel has a significantly higher melting point than the temperature of jet fuel. Of course, Steel Beams are about as strong as a wet-noodle at Jet-fuel temperatures: this video Which of course, would cause the towers to collapse. But seriously, Jet Fuel doesn't "melt" steel beams. It just weakens them tot he point where they break easily. You can't make ANY mistakes when talking to a conspiracy theorist. They are right about the melting point of steel, but that doesn't help their argument at all.
> Wood will not self-combust until reaching around 300°c Staying below the "fail fast" temperature does not make it safe: this video The question is, how will it handle years of the daily heating and cooling cycles that the cooling system will undergo? I don't know and likely no-one does ... because it hasn't been rated or approved for that task. it isn't even a standardised part, how can it be?