Friday, July 07, 2006

Now that’s what I call science! – Right Wing News links to what John Hawkins calls “The greatest post ever in the history of the Democratic Underground” about a guy who punched some holes in a rabbit cage and simulated the World Trade Center with a patio block and a little wood fire. You know, I have a degree in engineering, but this guy has all the answers.

Extra – From Nova on PBS: “Why the towers fell” Those so-called architects claim it was the intense fire from the jet fuel that melted the steel supports. Sadly, no rabbit cages were used in their half-assed analysis. Pffffft.

6 comments:

jd watson said...

It was not that the steel melted. See here for a fuller explanation. The long and short of it is that the exterior supports failed from differential heating/expansion, and the cascading failure from above pancaked the building.

Eric said...

Well, what I remember from the PBS show is that the force of the impact blew the heat resistant foam off all the cross-supports, which then slumped under the heat.

Brian said...

I have to go with the expert at the DU. After seeing that rabbit cage withstand the intense heat, there is no doubt in my mind that the WTC, being of similar structure and build, could not have come down without Bush and Rove blowing it up.

By the way, you should not have put up your picture. I'd rather have not seen what the face of the evil conservative devil looks like.

Anonymous said...

I love the idea that the loon says he used "kerosene (jet fuel)' for his fire. Well, yeah, jet fuel is usually a form of kerosene, but it's hardly the kind you buy at the local hardware store. JP4, with which I have a passing acquaintance, is more like a heavy diesel fuel -- hard as hell to light (at least in the open) and burns ferociously once it is. Not like his fire at all.

Anonymous said...

Maybe they can re-enact Waco with some Lincoln Logs and a Zippo.

Cuz science is like, important.

Anonymous said...

The best part was the little brick he put on top of the cage.

The actual load above the impact zone was comparable to a ~30-story skyscraper, sitting atop structure which had been mechanically and thermally damaged. When it finally gave way, that load became dynamic, and force = mass times acceleration.

He should have tried standing on top of it and stomping.