# Who cares to debate the events of 9/11/2001 based upon the laws of physics? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 14, 2017, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-cares-to-debate-the-events-of-9-11-2001-based-upon-the-laws-of-physics/798861 "2017-10-14T21:40:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 53
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2017, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-cares-to-debate-the-events-of-9-11-2001-based-upon-the-laws-of-physics/798861/1041 "2017-10-17T15:18:06Z")
> [@Jay\_Jay](#): > > The big bamboozle is in full effect here and people refuse to even consider alternatives to the official lie on the subject. oops! What alternatives? You have yet to present any. ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2017, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-cares-to-debate-the-events-of-9-11-2001-based-upon-the-laws-of-physics/798861/1042 "2017-10-17T15:21:20Z")
> [@Jay\_Jay](#): > > about that 20 floors falling bit, once the upper mass has fallen that one floor, and attained some speed > it would encounter a stationary mass ( that is the lower floor ) and not only have to bust up said floor, but accelerate said mass to match the speed already attained by the original 20 floors, however that is impossible without subtracting from the speed of the original 20 floors. I’ve gone through the math of this one too, using a simple Excel sheet, modeling how much one floor should slow down the falling mass, then accelerating 12 more feet down to the next floor, then slowing down to absorb the momentum of that floor, then accelerating again, etc. etc., 100 times. My model predicted a collapse time of 14 seconds, but this was for 100 floors of collapsing, while the towers only had to do 78 and 90 floors for the South and North Towers. So the times we observe in the videos very closely match what we should expect based on gravity and conservation of momentum. The key point I think you’re missing, in this example, is that the one floor DOES slow down the falling 20-floor mass, but then that falling 21-floor mass accelerates again for 12 more feet, where it encounters the next floor down, which slows down the 21-floor mass, but doesn’t slow it down by as much as it accelerates in the 12 feet of free-fall. So the whole process speeds up as it goes down. So unless you present your own physics (with math) to back up your assertion, please stop claiming that the towers fell too fast. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2017, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-cares-to-debate-the-events-of-9-11-2001-based-upon-the-laws-of-physics/798861/1043 "2017-10-17T15:24:07Z")
> [@Mr.Miskatonic](#): > > Now before you go running to the gutless (and often nonexistant) cowards that make up AE911T you’ll need to ask yourself: “If they have any relevant proof, why haven’t they published anything?”. Sure they’ve put up some posters and the equivlelant of blog posts where they won’t get the scrutiny that most real engineers will see. And videos of Seven, at least one of which included a side-by-side comparison with a known controlled demolition in Texas, with the audio stripped to encourage the gullible to think Seven was deliberately imploded. ---
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2017, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-cares-to-debate-the-events-of-9-11-2001-based-upon-the-laws-of-physics/798861/1044 "2017-10-17T15:27:22Z")
> [@CurtC](#): > > I’ve gone through the math of this one too, using a simple Excel sheet Excel is on the conspiracy obviously and fake the results so it looks like it is correct. Never forget ANYTHING that is contrary to what he believes is automatically wrong. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2017, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-cares-to-debate-the-events-of-9-11-2001-based-upon-the-laws-of-physics/798861/1045 "2017-10-17T15:35:56Z")
Are we done here, Jay\_Jay?.. \ ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2017, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-cares-to-debate-the-events-of-9-11-2001-based-upon-the-laws-of-physics/798861/1046 "2017-10-17T15:43:10Z")
> [@Jay\_Jay](#): > > about that 20 floors falling bit, > once the upper mass has fallen that one floor, and attained some speed > it would encounter a stationary mass ( that is the lower floor ) and not only have to bust up said floor, but accelerate said mass to match the speed already attained by the original 20 floors, however that is impossible without subtracting from the speed of the original 20 floors. Okay, but so what? 20 floors fall 3.6 meters and impact the next floor. The structural supports of that floor, plus its own inertia, briefly provide an upward force to resist the falling mass. It slows the mass but isn’t strong enough to stop it. Then 21 floors fall 3.6 meters and impact the next floor, etc. Periods of falling alternating with brief instants of resistance, periods of acceleration alternating with brief instants of deceleration; add it all up and you get what we got. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2017, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-cares-to-debate-the-events-of-9-11-2001-based-upon-the-laws-of-physics/798861/1047 "2017-10-17T15:47:10Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Periods of falling alternating with brief instants of resistance, periods of acceleration alternating with brief instants of deceleration; add it all up and you get what we got. A vast conspiracy involving secret technology and masterminded by The Illuminati? ---
**Author:** ![Section\_Maker\_Jupe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/section_maker_jupe/32/1424_2.png) [@Section\_Maker\_Jupe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Section_Maker_Jupe)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2017, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-cares-to-debate-the-events-of-9-11-2001-based-upon-the-laws-of-physics/798861/1048 "2017-10-17T15:52:41Z")
…and that mass, after the first few floors pancaked, increased with each floor added to it as they fell… I doubt the floors below the falling mass offered any meaningful resistance. Free falling indeed. (response to Curt C. ) ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2017, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-cares-to-debate-the-events-of-9-11-2001-based-upon-the-laws-of-physics/798861/1049 "2017-10-17T15:55:27Z")
Clearly the answer is that the videos and eyewitness accounts of the WTC falling “at FREE FALL acceleration for 2.25 sec while keeping its shape and falling straight down” were faked. Checkmate. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2017, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-cares-to-debate-the-events-of-9-11-2001-based-upon-the-laws-of-physics/798861/1050 "2017-10-17T16:00:54Z")
There is no such thing as a _“free fall”_. Gravity is a cover-up. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2017, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-cares-to-debate-the-events-of-9-11-2001-based-upon-the-laws-of-physics/798861/1051 "2017-10-17T16:04:36Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > **There is no such thing as a _“free fall”_.** Gravity is a cover-up. I don’t know why they call it _free_ fall, it always costs in the end. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2017, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-cares-to-debate-the-events-of-9-11-2001-based-upon-the-laws-of-physics/798861/1052 "2017-10-17T16:09:54Z")
No, this could totally be true - my new theory is that hijackers actually flew planes into the WTC and Pentagon (and the ground) but all the videos were subsequently altered and evidence removed or tampered with in order keep people like **Jay\_Jay** busy chasing some fictional version of what happened, in order to prevent them from finding out the REAL truth about…I dunno, something else. Maybe something to do with aliens or oil or internet cat videos. And as I’ve been assured that I don’t need to speculate about how or why this was done, \*\*and \*\*since (unlike the other theory under discussion) mine doesn’t violate the laws of physics, my version wins! Wake up, sheeple! The truth is that 9/11 happened exactly the way they said it did _but they don’t want you to know that!_ ---
**Author:** ![Crybaby\_Boobie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crybaby_boobie/32/545_2.png) [@Crybaby\_Boobie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crybaby_Boobie)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2017, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-cares-to-debate-the-events-of-9-11-2001-based-upon-the-laws-of-physics/798861/1053 "2017-10-17T16:10:45Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > There is no such thing as a _“free fall”_. Gravity is a cover-up. Too soon! RIP Tom Petty. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2017, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-cares-to-debate-the-events-of-9-11-2001-based-upon-the-laws-of-physics/798861/1054 "2017-10-17T16:13:45Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > I don’t know why they call it _free_ fall, it always costs in the end. > [@Crybaby\_Boobie](#): > > Too soon! RIP Tom Petty. QED ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2017, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-cares-to-debate-the-events-of-9-11-2001-based-upon-the-laws-of-physics/798861/1055 "2017-10-17T16:49:55Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > A vast conspiracy involving secret technology and masterminded by The Illuminati? In conjunction with the Trilateral Commission, the Elders of Zion, Skull & Bones, the Freemasons and the Rothschilds, with technical assistance from the CIA, Interpol and ФСБ. They had access to military-grade hardware and supercomputers that far outpaced even what Hollywood can get their hands on today. And it was all scripted out in Agenda 21. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2017, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-cares-to-debate-the-events-of-9-11-2001-based-upon-the-laws-of-physics/798861/1056 "2017-10-17T16:52:18Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > In conjunction with the Trilateral Commission, the Elders of Zion, Skull & Bones, the Freemasons and the Rothschilds, with technical assistance from the CIA, Interpol and ФСБ. They had access to military-grade hardware and supercomputers that far outpaced even what Hollywood can get their hands on today. And it was all scripted out in Agenda 21. Still no ENHANCE button. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2017, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-cares-to-debate-the-events-of-9-11-2001-based-upon-the-laws-of-physics/798861/1057 "2017-10-17T16:57:35Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > I don’t know why they call it _free_ fall, it always costs in the end. It’s a pretty obvious communist/socialist plot… ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2017, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-cares-to-debate-the-events-of-9-11-2001-based-upon-the-laws-of-physics/798861/1058 "2017-10-17T17:01:17Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > In conjunction with the Trilateral Commission, the Elders of Zion, Skull & Bones, the Freemasons and the Rothschilds, with technical assistance from the CIA, Interpol and ФСБ. They had access to military-grade hardware and supercomputers that far outpaced even what Hollywood can get their hands on today. And it was all scripted out in Agenda 21. > [@XT](#): > > It’s a pretty obvious communist/socialist plot… Sure. Go on with your jokes. But then how do you explain the OP’s sudden disappearance? … what? ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2017, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-cares-to-debate-the-events-of-9-11-2001-based-upon-the-laws-of-physics/798861/1059 "2017-10-17T17:05:06Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Sure. Go on with your jokes. But then how do you explain the OP’s sudden disappearance? … what? He had everything else covered but foolishly neglected MI6. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2017, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-cares-to-debate-the-events-of-9-11-2001-based-upon-the-laws-of-physics/798861/1060 "2017-10-17T17:06:40Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > He had everything else covered but foolishly neglected MI6. My guess would have been The Spanish Inquisition. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-cares-to-debate-the-events-of-9-11-2001-based-upon-the-laws-of-physics/798861.md?page=52) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-cares-to-debate-the-events-of-9-11-2001-based-upon-the-laws-of-physics/798861.md?page=54)