WERE WORLD TRADE CENTER TOWERS PREPARED WITH THERMITE TO WEAKEN ENTIRE STEEL STRUCTURE TO ALLOW DEMOLITION AND FREE FALL SPEED? 🔥 Thermite is a mixture of a metal powder (almost always aluminum) and a metal oxide (most commonly iron oxide, such as rust or mill scale). When ignited it undergoes a highly exothermic redox reaction that produces molten metal and aluminum oxide slag at temperatures far above the melting point of steel. The classic reaction is: \[ 2Al + Fe_2O_3 \rightarrow Al_2O_3 + 2Fe + \text{heat} \] Similar reactions use magnetite (\(Fe_3O_4\)). The aluminum strips oxygen from the iron oxide, releasing a large amount of energy because aluminum oxide is far more stable. Theoretical peak temperatures can exceed 2,500–3,000 °C; the molten iron that actually flows out is typically in the 2,000–2,500 °C range after heat losses. The mixture is hard to start (it needs a high-temperature igniter such as a magnesium strip or special starter powder) but once running it is self-sustaining and difficult to extinguish. Effect on steel Steel melts at roughly 1,370–1,540 °C depending on composition. Thermite easily exceeds that, so it can both melt steel and deposit new molten iron that fuses with it. The most important industrial use is thermite (aluminothermic) welding, especially of railroad rails. A refractory mold is clamped around a small gap between two rail ends. The rails are preheated, then the thermite charge (plus alloying additions so the product matches rail steel) is ignited in a crucible above the mold. Superheated molten steel pours into the gap, melts a thin layer of the rail faces, and mixes with them. After cooling, the result is a continuous, high-strength fusion joint. The same principle is used for heavy structural repairs, crane rails, and some pipe or electrical connections. Because the reaction produces a pool of liquid iron hotter than steel’s melting point, concentrated thermite can also cut or burn through steel plates or sections. The molten iron itself acts as a heat-transfer medium and can mix with the target metal. In practice, heat losses to the surroundings mean large amounts of thermite are required to melt massive steel members; small charges mainly produce local melting and welding rather than wholesale destruction of large beams. In short, thermite does not “eat” steel chemically; it delivers enough heat and molten iron to melt, mix with, and fuse steel, which is why it is valued for field welding of large steel sections and can also be used to cut metal when applied in a focused way. MORE 9/11 TRUTH AT THE WORLD'S CONNECTION TO UNSTOPPABLE TRUTH AT 17PLUS WORLDWIDE TRUTH NETWORK AT 17PLUS.WEEBLY.COM