Melted Steel Claim is a Strawman

December 7, 2007 by Victor Chabala
Filed under News and Opinion

Conspiracy theorists state that jet fuel doesn’t burn hot enough to melt steel. Granted, this is true, but that argument is a straw man for one simple reason, found here. The steel did not need to melt, it only needed to weaken, and the fires, which in some cases were up to 1,100º F ( 593º C) which is more than enough heat to cause such weakening, resulting in the eventual collapse. The fact of the matter is that steel loses 5 %of it’s structural integrity at about 650º F (343‚º C), and can lose up to 90% of it’s strength at 1,800º F (982ºC), but even assuming a maximum temperature of 1,000º F (538º C), that is still more than enough reason for sufficient damage to result in an eventual collapse (refer to Skeptic.com).

In addition, the jet fuel was not the only thing burning- it was merely the ignition source. There were things like office furniture, computers, etc were also burning, and as we see here, black smoke doesn’t prove squat as large fires involving plastics and such will also produce large quantities of black smoke. Using conspiracy theorist logic ( an obvious oxymoron), barbecuing should also be impossible, as the lighter fluid doesn’t burn hot enough to cook food- it merely gets the fire going.

The design of the World Trade Center (essentially a “tube in a tube”) merely added to the problem. The impact from the planes, plus the initial impact, dislodged the fireproofing, which increased the steels susceptibility to fire. The extreme heat then caused severe weakening of the steel, and the expansion of said steel, which caused it to warp, thereby causing the collapse.

As for Steven Jones’s article that states that melted steel was found at Ground zero, there are several problems with that claim, found here: All Jones’s sources are anecdotal, and have been made as a result of informal observation. Lot’s of people consider any grayish metal to look enough like steel that they call it steel. However, one needs to test it in a lab to determine if it was actually steel. In point of fact, the substance was more likely aluminum, which was a component of the WTC construction, melts at much lower temperatures than steel, and can look similar to steel.

As for 1975 WTC fire that’s apples to oranges. The conspiracy theorists claim:

In the 9/11 fires the windows were not broken by the heat (only by the aircraft impact) indicating a temperature below 700 degrees Celcius (1292°F).

This is rather dishonest as the planes obviously broke the windows. Hint to CT’s: you can’t break the windows twice.

Last but not least, if anyone looks at their history, they’d realize that blacksmiths in the Old West worked steel horseshoes at much lower temperatures than were found at Ground Zero. Simply put, the melted steel claim is merely a strawman argument.

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More REAL Facts About Alleged Melted Steel says:

June 6, 2008 at 5:16 pm

[...] As I pointed out in one of my first articles, while that last sentence is technically true, “truthers” forget two [...]

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7 Responses to “Melted Steel Claim is a Strawman”

N. O'Brain says:

December 7, 2007 at 7:50 am

“…theyâ€™d realize that blacksmiths in the Old West worked steel horseshoes at much lower temperatures than were found at Ground Zero.”

And all those Japanese sword makers never existed, either!!!!2!1!!!!!

I mean, c’mon, a charcol fire to work steel?

It’d never be hot enough!!!!one!!!1!!

[/CT moonbat]
Victor Chabala says:

December 7, 2007 at 12:15 pm

LOL- I forgot about the Japanese sword makers but you’re right, steels been around for a long time.
911realtruth says:

December 7, 2007 at 1:40 pm

Look up what a “Sherman’s Neckties” is.

During the civil was The Union Army played havoc with Confederate railroads by ripping up the tracks and building a fire with the wooden ties, then placing the tracks on the fires to bend. Often going as far as wrapping the steel track around trees making them impossible to be straightened.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherman’s_neckties
Victor Chabala says:

December 7, 2007 at 3:50 pm

911realtruth, thanks for that info. It’s very interesting.
Victor Chabala says:

December 7, 2007 at 8:15 pm

Jenn, I think part of the link 911Realtruth gave us may have been cut off accidentally. Here’s the corrected link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherman%27s_neckties
tanabear says:

January 6, 2008 at 10:47 pm

Victor writes, “Granted, this is true, but that argument is a straw man for one simple reason…”

It is not necessarily a strawman. Many “experts” stated after the destruction of WTC1 and 2 that the steel melted.

Hyman Brown: “This building would have stood had a plane or a force caused by a plane smashed into it. But steel melts, and 90,850 litres of aviation fluid melted the steel. Nothing is designed or will be designed to withstand that fire.”

Chris Wise: “The columns would have melted, the floors would have melted and eventually they would have collapsed one on top of each other.”

John Knapton: “The 35 tonnes of aviation fuel will have melted the steel… all that can be done is to place fire resistant material around the steel and delay the collapse by keeping the steel cool for longer.”

Eduardo Kausel: “I believe that the intense heat softened or melted the structural elements–floor trusses and columns–so that they became like chewing gum, and that was enough to trigger the collapse.”

Lee Hamilton: “What caused the collapse of the buildings, to summarize it, was that the super-heated jet fuel melted the steel super-structure of these buildings and caused their collapse.”

Lee Hamilton, Co-Chair of the 9/11 Commission, actually stated that the jet-fuel fires melted the steel in an interview in August of 2006. So many people have the impression that the steel melted. The 9/11 Truth Movement does our best to correct this delusion.

Victor writes, “All Jonesâ€™ sources are anecdotal.”

“Evidence of a severe high temperature corrosion attack on the steel, including oxidation and sulfidation with subsequent INTERGRANUAL MELTING, was readily visible in the near-surface microstructure.”
FEMA Report.