World Trade Center Jet Impact Kinetic Energy
World Trade Center Mass And Potential Energy
World Trade Center Jet Impact Seismic Signals
World Trade Center Jet Impact Jet Fuel Energy
The World Trade Center Twin Towers Were Designed For Jet Impacts
American Airlines Flight 11 flew at a speed of 470 mph (210m/s) into the North Tower (WTC1) (fema.gov)
Flight 11 impacted the North Tower carrying 8,684 gallons (57,922 lb) of [Jet Fuel jet fuel] which is about 36% of capacity. (journalof911studies.com)
Flight 11 had a net weight of 177,079 lb plus 57,922 lb of fuel for a total minimum weight of 235,001 lb (106,594 kg).
The kinetic energy of Flight 11 was about 2358 MJ.
United Airlines Flight 175 flew at a speed of 590 mph (263m/s) into the South Tower (WTC2) (fema.gov)
Flight 175 impacted the South Tower carrying 7,415 gallons (49,458 lb) of [Jet Fuel jet fuel] which is about 31% of capacity. (journalof911studies.com)
Flight 175 had a net weight of 179,080 lb plus 49,458 lb of fuel for a total minimum weight of 228,538 lb (103,663 kg).
The kinetic energy of Flight 175 was about 3585 MJ.
Editors Note: The WTC Towers were designed to take the impact of a fully-loaded Boeing 707-340B (net weight 146,400 lb = 66,406 kg) traveling at 600 mph (268 m/s) with a fuel capacity of 23,000 gal = 71,300 kg = 157,189 lb for a total mass of 66,406 kg + 71,300 kg = 137,706 kg has a kinetic energy of .5*137706*(268^2)=4945297872 J or about 4945 MJ.
To summarize, the design of the WTC towers was specified to withstand a [The World Trade Center Twin Towers Were Designed For Jet Impacts impact energy of 4945 MJ] , 37% greater than Flight 175's impact energy and 109% greater than Flight 11's impact energy.
||Boeing 707-320B|Boeing 767-200ER|
|Fuel Capacity|23,000 gal (87,064 L) (source) |23,980 gal (90,770 L) (source) |
|Max Takeoff Weight|336,000 lb (152,400 kg) (source) |395,000 lb (179,170 kg) (source) |
|Empty Weight|146,400 lb (66,406 kg) (source) |177,079 lb (80,322 kg) fact/civ Boeing 767-200.htm (source) |
|Wingspan|145 ft 9 in (44.42 m) (source) |156 ft 1 in (47.57 m) (source) |
|Wing Area|3,010 ft^2 (280 m^2) (source) |3,050 ft^2 (283.3 m^2) (source) |
|Length|152 ft 11 in (46.6 m) (source) |159 ft 2 in (48.51 m) (source) |
|Cruise Speed|607 mph (977 km/h) (source) |530 mph (851 kph) (source) |
Further Information:
http://911research.wtc7.net/wtc/analysis/design.html
http://www.911blogger.com/node/8041
http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/context.jsp?item=a022793skilling
Also see Gregg Roberts' commentary, Jones v. Robertson, A Physicist and a Structural Engineer Debate the Controlled Demolition of the World Trade Center
"according to NIST, the mass of the empty Boeing 767-200ER airplane was 183,500 pounds."
http://www.journalof911studies.com/letters/e/VisualizationAidsWTCTowers.pdf
National Institute of Standards and Technologies Final Report on the Collapse of the World Trade Center Towers (NCSTAR 1), page 20 September, 2005
http://wtc.nist.gov/NISTNCSTAR1CollapseofTowers.pdf
To get an idea of the energy scales involved, a 2008 Audi A6 3.2L weighs 4167 lb (1890 kg). Traveling at it's top speed of 155 mph (69 m/s) has a kinetic energy of about 4.5 MJ or about 1/796 the kinetic energy of Flight 175.
