I've seen irrelevant topics before, but this one may take the cake...
But I guess this thread is dead anyway. Derek Johnson has decided to continue to sell his nonsense. Because he doesn't have the time (or initiative) to bother...
(Lame...)
So, my piece on this.
Statics and dynamics are generally taught sophomore year. (As I've already conceded. So, if CE wants to chalk this up as a big win for the truther team, be my guest. Your wins are so few & far between, far be it from me to deny you this one.)
I confess that I said that a student could understand it with freshman level engineering education... and in reality it would probably take a mediocre student until the sophomore year.
And I have to concede one more thing as well. This is probably one of the strongest, most robust proofs of "... inside job ..!" the twoofs have. Way to go, CE?
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However, before you get too giddy, let's take a little closer look. Let's look at what if really required.
There are two pieces of knowledge required to understand the fall of the walls of WTC7. The first is freshman year calculus.
Specifically, one would have to know how to integrate, twice, the exponential function given by NIST that describes the height vs time graph. With his student version of Mathematica, my girlfriend's 16 year old senior high school student can do that. And he knows what the processes of differentiation & integration mean. (While not yet "mission-critical" reliable. (Then again, look at Tony's track record...!)
As soon as one did that, you'd see that the drop is not a free fall. That, in fact, it looks very little like a free fall.
Here's the class at my old alma mater:
1XXX courses generally taken freshman year.
Cornell Engineering Handbook said:
MATH 1910 Calculus for Engineers (MQR)
Fall, spring, summer. Prerequisite: three years high school mathematics including trigonometry and logarithms and at least one course in differential and integral calculus. Due to an overlap in content, students will receive credit for only one course in the following group: MATH 1910, MATH 1120, MATH 1220.
Essentially a second course in calculus. Topics include techniques of integration, finding areas and volumes by integration, exponential growth, partial fractions, infinite sequences and series, and power series.
The second course of study is an introductory course in structures. In essence, statics is all that's necessary to understand why the wall (not the building) collapsed.
Note well that I said "understand". Not "figure out". Those are two entirely different tasks.
This is also a freshman class. But it is an introductory class.
Cornell Engineering Handbook said:
Modern Structures (CEE1160) for both civil & mechanical engineering students.
Introduction to structural engineering in the 21st century... Using case studies of famous structures, students learn to identify different structural forms and understand how various forms carry load—using principles of statics, mechanics, and material behavior. ... Case studies of failures are used to explain how structures fail in earthquakes and other extreme events, and students are introduced to analytical and experimental approaches ... to quantifying loads on structures subjected to extreme events. Types of structures considered include skyscrapers, bridges, aircraft, and underground structures.
Who'd like to wager that they discuss the WTC collapses.
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Here's the standard Engineering Dynamics, 2XXX = sophomore year.
Cornell Engineering Handbook said:
ENGRD 2030 Dynamics (also TAM 2030)
Newtonian dynamics of a particle, systems of particles, a rigid body. Kinematics, motion relative to a moving frame. Impulse, momentum, angular momentum, energy. Rigid-body kinematics, angular velocity, moment of momentum, the inertia tensor. Euler equations, the gyroscope. Laboratory experiments demonstrate basic principles of dynamics.
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And, finally, they also have some courses for high-achieving younger students... like this one for junior & senior high-school students.
This isn't directly aimed at structures or calculus, but it shows that, for students that know what they want early & show promise, educators open doors wide to welcome them.
Cornell Engineering Handbook said:
ENGRG 1060 Exploration in Engineering Seminar
Summer. Designed for junior and senior high-school students.
Introduction to several engineering fields, such as bioengineering, chemical engineering, civil engineering, computer science, earth sciences, electrical and computer engineering, engineering physics, materials science, mechanical engineering, and operations research. Hands-on experience in weekly labs, as well as design projects to introduce concepts of the engineering design process.
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Last comment. In the early 1980s, I taught a class called Engineering Dynamics at Palomar College in San Marcos, CA (just north of San Diego).
I had 17 students. 14 (IIRC) were sophomores, 1 was a junior, and 2 were freshmen who had placed out of a couple freshman level courses. And were well on their way to graduating in 3 years.
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There is a wide spectrum of interest, hard work & achievement. The really good teachers will nurture their good students, and challenge them with all that the students can handle.
The comment that "they'd never let freshmen close to dynamics" was ludicrous.
Tom
