Hmmmm, Jet fuel burned beam???

ok i had a thought , so the the beam when it was standing was straight up and down and thermite best used on top of something to go straight thru it useing gravity could u have thermite at a slant and have the the thermite roll down and cut thru this way????
* <----thermite
\ l l
\ l l
\ l l <----beam
\l l :dunno

 

I dont know much about thermite but from what I have seen and done of cutting with a tourch figure thats reasonable for the beam in the picture. What I find most interesting is that I never saw a lot of streched, bent and so on beams.

It would seem to me based on my (admitedly some what limited) experience working with metal and especialy heated metal, that if in fact the metal failed due to the heat from the burning jet fuel then it would have softened to a point that it would have become flexable and maliable so that it would be streched and distorted and or crushed and distorted. Think in terms of it you take a piece of taffy and pull it apart, it narrows where it will break and draws smaller and smaller untill it comes apart it dosnt just tear unless cut by sisores or some such and then it shows those marks from the shearing. The debris I have seen pics of is still in straight pieces that to me look more like the way betal would braek while it is cool enouph to be brital where as even brital metal like say a file cant be broken while it is super heated (red hot and beyond) since it becomes flexable and will bend and go with the pressure. If you smack it with a hammer when hot it shapes to the hammer, it only breaks when it is hit without being heated to a point of softening the metal. To me the debris looks more like pieces shattered when cold than like pieces where its heated to a point of colapseing. :dunno:

 

The thicker the metal, the more slag. Cut some one inch plate sometime.