Paul Boutin

Jon Carroll in today’s SF Chronicle: “It is easy to be tolerant and openhearted in the good times. Our commitment to the ideals of the Constitution is tested in the tough times. Freedom is freedom for all; that is why our nation is worth protecting. It’s not the purple mountain majesties; it’s the sanctuary promised at the entrance to New York Harbor. You are home now. Welcome. ”

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Email from Wired contributor Patrick Di Justo in New York …

From: Patrick Di Justo <justpat@well.com>
Date: Sun, 16 Sep 2001 13:59:21 -0400
To: boutin@wiredmag.com
Subject: facts and figures

Bear with me — this is intended as nothing more than my geek way of coping.
Plus the results are astounding.

Energy content of jet fuel: 5.67M BTU per barrel
Standard petroleum barrel : 42 US gallons
767 Fuel capacity         : 23,980 US gallons
767 fuel use              :  1,380 gallons/hr
To convert BTU to calories, multiply by 251.996

Assume 22,050 gallons in the tanks when the plane hit the building.
       22,050 gallons = 525 barrels
	      525 barrels * 5.67M   =    2,976,750,000 BTU
       2976750000  * 251.996 =  750,129,093,000 calories

Energy content of fuel:   750,129,093,000 calories

For two planes        : 1,500,258,186,000 calories

Kinetic Energy = 1/2 * mass * velocity ** 2
To convert joules to calories, multiply by .23901

767 empty weight    : 82,737 kg
Fuel Weight         : 10,000 kg
total               : 92,737 kg

Assume velocity at impact 400 mph = 645000 m/h = 179 m/s

	KE = .5 * 92737 * (179 ^2) = 1,485,693,109 joules
	KE = 355,095,510 calories

Impact of two planes:   710,191,020 calories

Potential Energy = mass * gravity * height

    212,500 cubic yards of concrete per building
      4,000 lbs per cubic yard

850,000,000 lbs concrete
200,000,000 lbs steel    

Estimated building weight: 1,000,000,000 lbs = 453,600,000 kg

Height of building: 415 meters

Estimated Potential Energy: 836,983,600,000 joules
                          : 200,047,500,000 calories

For two buildings         : 400,085,000,000 calories

I converted everything into calories for one very important reason.
 The official definition of a kiloton is 10E12 calories.

       Fuel content of planes        :  1,500,000,000,000 calories
       Kinetic Energy of impacts     :        710,000,000 calories
       Potential energy of buildings :    400,000,000,000 calories
                                        —————————
                                        1,900,710,000,000 calories

       Energy released in WTC event  :  1.9 kilotons

	Energy released by building
       collapse, on Richter scale    :  3.5

	Hiroshima bomb                :  13 kilotons