17.9.01

Architecture complicit in Disaster: According to this article by a phusicist at Swarthmore College, there were three sources of energy that contributed to Tuesday's devastating event in New York. The first was the jet fuel contained in both planes, estimated to total 6.9x10^10 metric joules. The second was the kinetic energy of the speeding planes, which he estimates at 1.9x10^9 metric joules in total. The third source of energy was the arrangement of the structure, specifically the positioning of a great deal of mass at great distances from the ground, a potential energy estimated at 6.8x10^11 metric joules, or by far the largest contributor to the furious unleashing of terror.

Even while architecture is guilty, engineering saved hundreds of lives. This article in New Scientist magazine discusses how the particular structural solution used to achieve the evil architectural scheme prevented an even worse catastrophe.

Microsoft has announced that they will remove the towers from future versions of Flight Simulator. It is unclear whether this is to make the game more harmless or more realistic. Also it is unclear whether they will remove potentially threatening language from Word's dictionary.

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