Harrit et al. (2009) — Red/Gray Chips in WTC Dust
artifactNations & Geopolitics · Media & Managed Opposition · Darknet & Cyber
A chemistry paper reported finding unexploded incendiary material in the dust - and until now the map had no record of that literature at all.
Who they are
Harrit and colleagues, published in The Open Chemical Physics Journal in 2009[1].
What they do
The engine holds it as a published paper, with its journal named and no verdict attached.
How it works
The researchers examined red and grey chips from World Trade Center dust using electron microscopy and heat testing. They report iron oxide and aluminium finely mixed together, igniting at about 430°C - far below the temperature ordinary thermite needs - and leaving behind iron-rich molten spheres. They describe the red layer as unreacted and highly energetic. On the other side of the same literature, Bažant and colleagues argue that once the first floor gave way, gravity alone was mechanically sufficient to bring the towers down.
Why it matters
Worth knowing what the map looked like before this entry: the words thermite, nano-thermite, shaped charge and cutter charge appeared zero times anywhere in it. The four existing mentions of 'controlled demolition' are all metaphors - about BRICS, about Alex Jones, about decolonisation. The engine held no position on this literature because it held no record of it.
The engine's record — word for word
Published paper, The Open Chemical Physics Journal 2009, volume 2, pages 7-31, by Niels H. Harrit (University of Copenhagen), Jeffrey Farrer and Daniel Farnsworth (Brigham Young University), Steven E. Jones and Bradley R. Larsen, Kevin R. Ryan, Frank M. Legge, Gregg Roberts and James R. Gourley. Its reported findings, verbatim: using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry on red/gray chips recovered from World Trade Center dust, "elemental aluminum is present. The iron oxide and aluminum are intimately mixed in the red material. When ignited in a DSC device the chips exhibit large but narrow exotherms occurring at approximately 430 ˚C, far below the normal ignition temperature for conventional thermite. Numerous iron-rich spheres are clearly observed in the residue following the ignition of these peculiar red/gray chips. The red portion of these chips is found to be an unreacted thermitic material and highly energetic." HELD AS WHAT IT IS: a published finding with its journal named and no engine verdict attached. The counterweight in the same literature is Bažant, Le, Greening and Benson, "What Did and Did Not Cause Collapse of World Trade Center Twin Towers in New York?", which argues gravity-driven progressive collapse was mechanically sufficient once initial floor failure occurred. Canon holds the dispute, not a side. NOTE ON CANON'S PRIOR STATE: before this entry, the words 'thermite', 'nano-thermite', 'shaped charge' and 'cutter charge' appeared ZERO times anywhere in the engine — across all canon files and all published surfaces. The four existing hits for 'controlled demolition' are metaphors about BRICS, Alex Jones and decolonisation. The engine held no position on the physical-demolition literature because it held no record of it.
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