Collapse or Explosion? A Discussion of the WTC “Sounds of Explosions” Issue

Abstract

When the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center complex collapsed on September 11, 2001, they exhibited numerous features that several researchers have identified as being consistent with controlled demolition with explosives. However, others have argued that the Towers could not have been destroyed via explosives, noting that the collapse events lacked a critical feature of explosive demolition: sounds of explosions. The absence of these sounds, it’s argued, means explosives could not have played a role in the destruction of the buildings. In this paper, we examine this argument at length and show it to be groundless. We demonstrate that not only can explosive sounds be heard, but that even if this argument were correct, the entire premise of dismissing the demolition hypothesis based on this argument is fallacious to begin with. We also demonstrate that the official investigation into the destruction of these buildings failed to adequately consider this evidence as well, and therefore renders the conclusions of said investigation unfounded. The theory of controlled demolition with explosives has abundant evidence to support it, and this body of evidence does indeed include the sounds produced during the collapses.

[Read the full paper here.]

FAQ #7 – Sounds of Explosions?

Click Pic to Enlarge

This video, pulled from the NIST archives, reveals sounds of explosions that corroborate the eyewitness testimonies of explosive sounds at WTC7

Written by John-Michael Talboo
http://ae911truth.org

Friday, 04 November 2011 13:02

Question:
Why weren't the sounds that were heard during the destruction of the WTC skyscrapers on 9/11 as loud as the blasts heard in videos of acknowledged controlled demolitions?

Answer:
As 9/11 researcher Jim Hoffman points out at 911research.com, the continuous and rapid explosions of the Twin Towers would make distinct explosions nearly impossible to hear, except perhaps by those who were right next to the Towers. A news clip from Fox shows witnesses in midtown NYC stating that the explosive roar of the Towers’ demise sounded like “another large aircraft flying overhead.” These roaring sound waves were heard miles away.

Furthermore, sounds strongly suggesting explosions can indeed be heard in numerous videos of the towers' destruction, including these videos of WTC 1 and WTC 2 obtained via a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed against NIST by the International Center for 9/11 Studies. Similar sounds can be heard in videos of the destruction of WTC 7, such as this one, which has been analyzed by physics instructor David Chandler. These new videos of the Towers corroborate the many eyewitness reports describing loud pops and other explosive noises at the onset of the destruction. These reports were also obtained through an FOIA lawsuit, their release having been denied by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey when first requested by the New York Times.

Those who would still contend the sounds heard on 9/11 were not on par with acknowledged controlled demolitions should note a peer-reviewed paper by Danish chemist Niels Harrit, Ph.D., and other scientists, which documented that active thermitic materials were present in the WTC dust. The partially ignited and unignited residue of this energetic material indicates that thermite and nanothermite played a significant role in the destruction of the WTC skyscrapers. The literature on these materials states that their shockwave characteristics can be "tuned" for various purposes, which might include reducing the overall volume or sharpness of the blast sounds. Such a capability would make these materials ideal for use in “deceptive” controlled demolitions, in which the muted blast sounds would instinctively be blamed by at least some observers on the buildings' floors hitting each other as part of a "natural" collapse.

Reply: Richard Gage Explains the Lack of Explosive Sounds

The video below is from James B. of the Screw Loose Change blog; the reply follows:



Gage's speculation seems to be partly based on the erroneous talking point shown in this video, that demolition would be audible as distinct events.

As the website 911review.com has pointed out:

The towers' destruction cannot be accurately described without the word 'explosion.' Huge clouds billowed out from the towers, starting around the crash zones, and grew rapidly as they consumed each tower, converting them to fine powder and fragments of steel, and depositing the bulk of the remains outside of each tower's footprint in a radial pattern.

Incredibly, this stark reality has and continues to be so consistently and widely denied in government, media, industry, and academia, that few Americans have even entertained the idea that the towers were intentionally demolished. One of the key underpinnings of that denial is the fact that the explosions were continuous, extending for the entire 15-second duration of each tower's collapse. Although witnesses describe loud pops at their onsets, the extended duration and loud roar of the explosions apparently prevented most people from thinking of them as explosions.

Here is a video I put together that further demonstrates Hoffman's point. It also raises other points that demolish "debunker" assertions regarding audible explosions. Click here for factual back-up, sources, and further research materials pertaining to it.



Obviously Gage wasn't saying that videos don't show this loud explosive roar!

Update:

The other reason I think Gage might be speculating about the videos is due to the audio in this clip:



"Debunkers" will point out that the audio of the Towers exploding in the above video, which comes from the Discovery Channel's "Inside the Twin Towers" documentary, is not the correct soundtrack. There has been dispute about this, but I have it on good authority that one of the people involved in the capturing of the video did say the audio on the Discovery Channel piece was not correct. A "debunker" victory? Not so much, because this person also stated, "Both myself and the senior fire officers who were with me at the time mentioned in our written statements to the NYPD that we thought their had been an explosion before the tower collapsed."

All this being said, there were distinct explosive sounds recorded at ground zero. One major explosion was recorded at WTC 7. And guess what? HBO took it out of a documentary they aired.



Did the men in black have a talk with the producers of the HBO program? You might think that if you're a paranoid nutter. Most likely it just stems from cognitive dissonance though. I mean, we wouldn't want those crazy conspiracy theorists to hear an explosion that sounds exactly like a shaped charge. That might lead their tin foil wrapped melons to conclude that the explosion was actually caused by exactly what it sounds like!



Here is a video compilation showing other distinct explosions recorded at ground zero. How many times have we seen these repeated on TV since?

But this is all besides the point since the peer-reviewed paper "Active Thermitic Material Discovered in Dust from the 9/11 World Trade Center Catastrophe" actually demonstrates how scientists found nano-engineered explosives in dust from the WTC.

The authors mention that in April 2001 the American Chemical Society held a symposium on the defense applications of nanomaterials in which they stated:

At this point in time, all of the military services and some DOE and academic laboratories have active R&D programs aimed at exploiting the unique properties of nanomaterials that have potential to be used in energetic formulations for advanced explosives…. nanoenergetics hold promise as useful ingredients for the thermobaric (TBX) and TBX-like weapons, particularly due to their high degree of tailorability with regards to energy release and impulse management.

The authors then go on to point out that, "The feature of 'impulse management' may be significant. It is possible that formulations may be chosen to have just sufficient percussive effect to achieve the desired fragmentation while minimizing the noise level.

In other words these materials, in any form that they are used, are perfect for covert demolition in which one would want to reduce the loud pops of conventional demolitions.

Related Info:

WTC 7: Sound Evidence for Explosions