WTC7 and the NIST free fall failure

I can just imagine the conversation between the Junior Engineer who calculated the fall time and his boss, who was pushing to get the over-due final report wrapped up & out the door.

Junior Engineer: "Well, in my initial analysis, I was only able to get about, let's see 47 - 33, about 14 floors of fall before it fell behind that building. And those are the numbers that I've got in my report. But then I was showing my results to Joe at lunch, and he pointed out that, if I shifted my reference point to the right at that moment my reference point disappeared, I could get another 4 stories of data. So I'm going to update my numbers."

Senior Engineer: "great".

Jr. Engineer: "But I need to rewrite my section to explain exactly how I did that."

Sr. Engineer: "Are your numbers right?"

Jr. Engr: "Of course."

Sr. Engr: "Will you explanation add anything to the story? Or will you just load people up with irrelevant details?"

Jr. Engr: "Well, suppose someone start to pick this thing apart, and they notice that I can only track this point for 14 floors. While the narrative says that I tracked it for 18. They might even conclude that I tracked the Penthouse roof instead of the building roof."

Sr. Engr: "Did you identify the point that you tracked?"

Jr. Engr: "Yup".

Sr. Engr: "Look, junior, it's long enough already. Get your info & data in there as simply & correctly as possible. Don't turn it into War & Peace. Or the the Boeing 747 tech manual."

Jr. Engr: "But some moron might conclude that we aren't technically astute enough to know that things fall downwards, rather than diagonally. Or that I tracked the Penthouse roof instead of the building roofline. They might even conclude that we're lying about all of this. Making up data.""

Sr. Engr: [Long pause. Withering look.] "We're not writing this thing for morons, are we."
Wow, there really ARE no limits to what you're prepared to invent to justify your support for trivial NIST errors :jaw-dropp
 
FYI, I have the same problem with both femr2 and Major Tom's graphs/animations/videos. I am also using Safari on Mac OS X 10.4.11.

Everyone else is fine.

Ew. First time I'm aware of that. The animated GIFS are very convenient for quite a few purposes.

Is there a browser you have that DOES show them okay ?

Or do you have an internal viewing application (like windows picture viewer) that you can simply launch them to and see them okay ?

I'm a bit loathed to abandon use of animated GIFS, so if you can find a way around your isue let me know. If not, I'll separate certain animated GIFs for repost.
 
Ew. First time I'm aware of that. The animated GIFS are very convenient for quite a few purposes.

Is there a browser you have that DOES show them okay ?

Or do you have an internal viewing application (like windows picture viewer) that you can simply launch them to and see them okay ?

I'm a bit loathed to abandon use of animated GIFS, so if you can find a way around your isue let me know. If not, I'll separate certain animated GIFs for repost.

The latest Firefox does seem to work.:)
 
Well, that chain of logic is... I can only say, pathetic. Invalid at every step, utterly implausible, and unconvincing to the point of being strongly persuasive toward the opposite conclusions.
That is YOUR chain of logic Myriad, so call it what you will.

What I'm saying has waist-level quantities of trace data soup behind it too. as I've said numerous times.

As I said, I'll put some time aside and prep some data for viewing.
 
I'm a bit loathed to abandon use of animated GIFS, so if you can find a way around your isue let me know. If not, I'll separate certain animated GIFs for repost.

In the "kink GIF" are the buildings to either side of WTC7 supposed to rise 6+ floors?
 
It is not possible to determine the location of the roofline from the Cam#3 viewpoint in terms of a pixel colour value transitioning to the colour of the sky.

Your picture precedes the collapse of the mechanical penthouse. Once that had gone, as you can see in tfk's picture, the skyline is visible. Did you forget that the penthouse fell before the facade?

Bit of an embarrasing mistake there, femr2.

Dave
 
Myriad said:
I will point out that graphs and images that just sit there and don't move have sufficed to communicate breakthroughs in general relativity, quantum mechanics, astrophysics, genetics, computing and other abstruse, novel, and even revolutionary scientific and technical concepts for centuries. Perhaps you might make do with them too?
Seconded, and not just for the technical reasons.

femr2, you seem to only be posting for attention here at the JREF, since you adamantly won't show your work to the world engineering community. Your audience here at the JREF keeps telling you that your graphs and graphics, in their current form, are unpersuasive and unecessarily complex. This is true even when they are viewable (I can see yours OK in most browsers, but achimspok's OP fails on ie for me).

Perhaps you might read this link and think about your posting style before continuing. It's directed at a proponent of alternative history, but it's applicable here.

You know, I think your inability to understand history is matched only by your inability to understand what it is you're doing here at JREF. Do you know what that is?


You're advertising.

You're trying to promote your beliefs (Holocaust denial) in the marketplace of ideas. We here are the potential consumers of those ideas, whom you wish to attract to your product.

Now, we skeptics here at JREF are a desirable consumer base in the marketplace of ideas. We are well-known for being smart shoppers, not easily swayed by the nonsense of the day. As such, purveyors of ideas come to us from all over, knowing that if they can convince us, they can convince almost anyone to believe as they do. Thus, we have people who believe in UFOs, Bigfoot, God, Angels, homeopathy, 9/11 Truth, and a thousand other ideas vying for our attention.

Now remember, you came to us. We did not go looking for your favourite forum to start a discussion of your videos, you came to our forum. If you want to compete against those others for our attention, you must give us something more than they do. I can go to any forum on this site, and find some earnest idea-pusher eager to engage me, and convince me to join them in their beliefs. Why should I engage with you, rather than any one of them?

Your posts here are your advertisements, and they are all you have to draw us in. Despite that, though, right from the very start, you have consistently refused to give us the information that we, as smart shoppers, have learned is needed to make any engagement with you worthwhile. We've shown you reports on your beliefs that indicate they are seriously flawed, which you have made no effort to rebut. It's as if a car salesman we to simply wave away a Consumers Report article that indicated the car he was selling was a fire hazard. Rejecting such a report out of hand may be easy, but it won't sell a car, will it?


You're competing in the marketplace of ideas. If you're incapable of expressing those ideas in a form that attracts our attention, then you'll surely lose.
 
Tom was referring to the vector between vertical and horizontal (southward) motion...the proportion between both. Achimspok is not. Apples and oranges. Achimspok misinterpreted what tfk meant. No big deal.

I wasn't referring to anything that Achimspok said.

I responded directly to what you said.

So much for reading comprehension...
 
That was about tfk wading into the discussion about an inch away from demanding everyone else goes and performs a tfk certified vector analysis of the most trivially simple point. Very tedious. Stopping the imminent vector math mud-fight if you will.

You seem incapable of accurately interpreting what the engineers at NIST say.

You seem incapable of accurately interpreting what I have said, too.

Your powers of intuiting what I might say in the future are, well, one giant pile of fail.

YOU, not Achimspok, claimed that

femr2 said:
1) The flexing of the facade when viewed from the Cam#3 viewpoint is incorrectly interpreted by NIST and co as primarily vertical displacement when it is primarily non-vertical motion.

If YOU wish to back up YOUR claim that "the motion is non-vertical", then YOU have to do YOUR analysis to prove it.

I fully expect you to provide bupkiss.

There will be no "vector analysis mud fight".

You have no mud.
 
Before I begin Tom...Tom, Tom, Tom...when are you going to learn eh ?

Here...
http://femr2.ucoz.com/_ph/3/2/370825048.jpg
It is not possible to determine the location of the roofline from the Cam#3 viewpoint in terms of a pixel colour value transitioning to the colour of the sky.

Wow.

Using a frame from several seconds before the collapse began.

Hmmmm…. one might think that you're just being deceitful.

Why don't you post an image from the time when that tracing was taken? That would be within 1 second of the beginning of the north wall collapse.

You'll find something, uh, "interesting" about the position of the East Penthouse...

clueless...
 
Myriad,

Any chance you could try out Firefox ?


I could.

Or you could fix the settings in the animated GIF file format you use, so as to be more universally compatible, like every other animated GIF I've seen in this and other forums and all over the Web, glitch-free.

Will either of us bother? We'll see.

Respectfully,
Myriad
 
That is YOUR chain of logic Myriad, so call it what you will.

What I'm saying has waist-level quantities of trace data soup behind it too. as I've said numerous times.

As I said, I'll put some time aside and prep some data for viewing.


Instead of waist-level quantities of anything, I would prefer just four numbers to compare with NIST's: start time, elapsed time, start position, change in position. And a few words explaining how you measured each one.

Respectfully,
Myriad
 
Your picture precedes the collapse of the mechanical penthouse.
Yes, East penthouse is intact.

Once that had gone, as you can see in tfk's picture, the skyline is visible.
Not at a point which can be traced down to the lower marker (the foreground building).

You should also be aware of the full-length movement traces before you go much further and possibly embarrass yourself.

Here's NW corner movement, as already posted in this thread...

212241494.png


You might (not holding my breath) notice that even the NW corner is showing movement before descent of the East penthouse.

Did you forget that the penthouse fell before the facade?
Nope.

Bit of an embarrasing mistake there, femr2.
Nope. Bit of a lack of knowledge about actual movement behaviour there, Dave. It's okay, it's fine movement. Unless you've invested the time and effort required to perform the number and level of traces I have, you're not going to be ribbed too much by me for missing a few important points. Now I've specifically given you a nudge though...no excuse.
 
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Instead of waist-level quantities of anything, I would prefer just four numbers to compare with NIST's: start time, elapsed time, start position, change in position. And a few words explaining how you measured each one.

Respectfully,
Myriad
As is in the quote you included...I'll put some time aside and prep some data for you.
 
Wow.

Using a frame from several seconds before the collapse began.
Are you quite sure about that statement Tom ? :)

Hmmmm…. one might think that you're just being deceitful.
Nope. A frame showing the various members visible above the North Facade roofline. It's not stated as being from a particular time.

Why don't you post an image from the time when that tracing was taken?
I'll probably post several Tom, in animated form ;)

That would be within 1 second of the beginning of the north wall collapse.
Are you quite sure about that statement Tom ?

You'll find something, uh, "interesting" about the position of the East Penthouse...
Is that so ?

Perhaps you have trace data showing the earliest motion of the central region of the roofline ? Perhaps you have trace data allowing comparison between the Cam#3 behaviour and the Dan Rather viewpoint behaviour ?

I'd be a little cautious of making too many further statements until you do, Tom.

clueless...
Tom, Tom, Tom. Put the shovel away.
 
Okay ;)


No. A simple deducement, determined by cross-referencing the information NIST themselves provide.


I really hope you're not going to suggest that NIST traced a diagonal, as highlighted by Achimspok earlier in this thread...

First, whatever happened to the word 'deduction?' I can't imagine Dr Watson exclaiming 'Brilliant deducement, Mr Holmes'. LOL

Anyway, I'm going to ignore the various ramblings from Femr2 for the moment, because I directed the answer to achimspok, not his personal pitbull.

achimspok made the allegation that NIST measured from the top of the screenwall, or maybe it was the West Penthouse????

But achimspok (and it seems Femr2) while constantly quoting NIST NCSTAR 1-9 fail to appreciate a couple of subtle, yet meaningful statements regarding the determination of collapse initiation, and rate of descent.

I'll quote (again, I know it's tedious) what NIST wrote:

'A single pixel close to the center of the north face roofline was selected and the color of the pixel, expressed as values of hue, saturation, and brightness, was recorded for each frame between 6.0 s and 7.8 s, where t = 0 s corresponds to the start of descent of the east penthouse (see Table
5-3). The brightness was found to provide the best indicator of change since the brightness of a pixel representing the sky above the building had a value of 100 percent while a pixel representing the roofline of the building (granite façade) had a brightness of roughly 60 percent for the pixel selected. The brightness of the selected pixel, expressed as a percent, is plotted versus time in Figure 12–75. From 6.0 s
to 6.9 s, the brightness is seen to oscillate around a value of 60 percent indicating no vertical movement.
Beginning at roughly 6.9 s the brightness increases irreversibly to a value of 100 percent at which time
the pixel under study represents the sky. Thus, the relative time at which the roofline began to move was
estimated as 6.9 s. The time when the roofline dropped from view behind the buildings in the foreground
was 12.3 s. Thus, the time the roofline took to fall 18 stories was approximately 5.4 s. '


This tells us that they used the brightness of a chosen pixel to determine when the parapet or 'roofline' changed to 'the sky'.
Nowhere do they mention that they used the screenwall nor the Penthouse as the point on the 'roofline'. Come to think of it, I don't think they ever confuse the terms anywhere in the report.

Truthers, however, are deliberately confusing the two. Read on...

Further on, NIST states 'To obtain a better understanding of the vertical motion of the building in the first several seconds of descent, the motion of the north face was studied in more detail by tracking the vertical position of a point near the center of the roofline using the same video. In the following discussion, the time at which motion of the roofline was first perceived (6.9 s) is taken as time zero. '

NIST is vague here in two ways:
1) They don't specify where on the roofline the point was
2) They don't say whether or not the pixel previously chosen to determine the start of descent has any relation to this point or not....except

they had already determined, using the previous method, that the 6.9 s time would be taken 'as zero'.

So there are two methods outlined and at play here. Both achimspok and Femr2 incorrectly, IMO, treat them as one thing.

In other words, they are incorrectly assuming that these data points are taken at the same point along the roof; or in achimspok's case, he's gone so far as to assume that it was a point on the screenwall.

Yes, it's a preposterous claim really, and neither of them has lifted a finger to query NIST about this, in order to clarify the point. So I say, gentlemen, what on earth are you waiting for? If you were correct, you'd be more famous than David Chandler! Is that not a huge incentive?:cool:

btw, I went back to my FCP videos again, and did the timing of the descent (not the acceleration) using the screenwall/W Penthouse, as achimspok had alleged NIST had done.

My overall timing for the descent is roughly 6 s, not 5.4 s as I'd previously determined. There are two obvious implications from this:

1) Even if we allow for a few frames of slop, we're looking at .5 s added to the NIST number
2) Judging from the crumbling of the screenwall and W Penthouse, the initial acceleration might even be faster than it was for the general roofline below, as these structures fall into the building while it begins to collapse.
The only way this can happen is if they have a higher velocity.

Have Messrs A or F done measurements along various parts of those upper structures to find out what the accelerations were? If they have, point me to that data please.

peace

AE


ETA, correction to the pixel brightness location. TFK correctly points out (I had replied before reading the rest of the posts) 'The chosen feature was the top of the parapet wall on the
roofline aligned with the east edge of the louvers on the north face. The distance was the difference
between the elevation of the roofline prior to the collapse and the last elevation where the roofline could
be observed before it was obstructed by a building in the foreground'

Let's repeat that in another way: Both Femr2 and achimspok have now been thoroughly schooled. They are just wrong.
The point has nothing to do with the things they allege.

Let's move on, shall we?
 
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