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New Expert Analysis Thermite and 911
(This page updated 4-12-2009..update includes new video at bottom of page.)
Active Thermitic Material Discovered in Dust from the 9/11 World Trade
Center Catastrophe link
The Open Chemical Physics Journal, 2009, 2, 7-31
We have discovered distinctive red/gray chips in all the samples we have studied of the dust produced by the
destruction of the World Trade Center. Examination of four of these samples, collected from separate sites, is reported in
this paper.
Niels H. Harrit*,1, Jeffrey Farrer, 2, Steven E. Jones*,3, Kevin R. Ryan4, Frank M. Legge 5,
Daniel Farnsworth2, Gregg Roberts 6, James R. Gourley, 7 and Bradley R. Larsen3
1 Department of Chemistry, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
2 Department of Physics and Astronomy, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA
3 S&J Scientific Co., Provo, UT, 84606, USA
4 9/11 Working Group of Bloomington, Bloomington, IN 47401, USA
5 Logical Systems Consulting, Perth, Western Australia
6 Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth, Berkeley, CA 94704, USA
7 International Center for 9/11 Studies, Dallas, TX 75231, USA
Abstract: We have discovered distinctive red/gray chips in all the samples we have studied of the dust produced by the
destruction of the World Trade Center. Examination of four of these samples, collected from separate sites, is reported in
this paper. These red/gray chips show marked similarities in all four samples. One sample was collected by a Manhattan
resident about ten minutes after the collapse of the second WTC Tower, two the next day, and a fourth about a week later.
The properties of these chips were analyzed using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray energy
dispersive spectroscopy (XEDS), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The red material contains grains approximately
100 nm across which are largely iron oxide, while aluminum is contained in tiny plate-like structures. Separation
of components using methyl ethyl ketone demonstrated that 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.
We have discovered distinctive red/gray chips in significant
numbers in dust associated with the World Trade Center
destruction. We have applied SEM/XEDS and other methods
to characterize the small-scale structure and chemical signature
of these chips, especially of their red component. The
red material is most interesting and has the following characteristics:
1. It is composed of aluminum, iron, oxygen, silicon and
carbon. Lesser amounts of other potentially reactive
elements are sometimes present, such as potassium,
sulfur, lead, barium and copper.
2. The primary elements (Al, Fe, O, Si, C) are typically
all present in particles at the scale of tens to hundreds
of nanometers, and detailed XEDS mapping shows
intimate mixing.
3. On treatment with methyl ethyl ketone solvent, some
segregation of components occurred. Elemental aluminum
became sufficiently concentrated to be clearly
identified in the pre-ignition material.
4. Iron oxide appears in faceted grains roughly 100 nm
across whereas the aluminum appears in thin platelike
structures. The small size of the iron oxide particles
qualifies the material to be characterized as nanothermite
or super-thermite.
5. Analysis shows that iron and oxygen are present in a
ratio consistent with Fe2O3. The red material in all
four WTC dust samples was similar in this way. Iron
oxide was found in the pre-ignition material whereas
elemental iron was not.
6. From the presence of elemental aluminum and iron
oxide in the red material, we conclude that it contains
the ingredients of thermite.
7. As measured using DSC, the material ignites and reacts
vigorously at a temperature of approximately
430 °C, with a rather narrow exotherm, matching
fairly closely an independent observation on a known
super-thermite sample. The low temperature of ignition
and the presence of iron oxide grains less than
120 nm show that the material is not conventional
thermite (which ignites at temperatures above 900 °C)
but very likely a form of super-thermite.
8. After igniting several red/gray chips in a DSC run to
700 °C, we found numerous iron-rich spheres and
spheroids in the residue, indicating that a very hightemperature
reaction had occurred, since the iron-rich
product clearly must have been molten to form these
shapes. In several spheres, elemental iron was verified
since the iron content significantly exceeded the
oxygen content. We conclude that a high-temperature
reduction-oxidation reaction has occurred in the
heated chips, namely, the thermite reaction.
9. The spheroids produced by the DSC tests and by the
flame test have an XEDS signature (Al, Fe, O, Si, C)
which is depleted in carbon and aluminum relative to
the original red material. This chemical signature
strikingly matches the chemical signature of the spheroids
produced by igniting commercial thermite, and
also matches the signatures of many of the microspheres
found in the WTC dust [5].
10. The carbon content of the red material indicates that
an organic substance is present. This would be expected
for super-thermite formulations in order to
produce high gas pressures upon ignition and thus
make them explosive. The nature of the organic material
in these chips merits further exploration. We note
that it is likely also an energetic material, in that the
total energy release sometimes observed in DSC tests
exceeds the theoretical maximum energy of the classic
thermite reaction.
Based on these observations, we conclude that the red
layer of the red/gray chips we have discovered in the WTC
dust is active, unreacted thermitic material, incorporating
nanotechnology, and is a highly energetic pyrotechnic or
explosive material.
Thermite Experiment
Some clips of Thermite from Brainiac science abuse
Now after watching the above videos on thermite and reading the chemical physics analysis view the vidio below.
“All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.” -- Arthur Schopenhauer
Update 4-12-2009: video below
A Danish scientist Niels Harrit, on nano-thermite in the WTC dust