Why did it take so long for the twin towers to collapse?

Question

I found a timeline for the events of 9/11 and I saw it took like an hour and a half for the towers to collapse after they were struck by the planes. Can anyone explain why it took so long?

I remember on the telecast on the day it happened it made it seem like they collapsed minutes after they were hit.

Answer 1

they should not have collapsed at all

and if they were supposed to fall, they should've fell slower

you see.... the metal bars in the tower cannot burn or melt - but they did - BECAUSE THEY WERE CUT AND HAD BOMBS IN THERE

now about the speed they fell...... they fell at freefall speed.  meaning when the top floors fell, they did NOT bump into the floors below them.... rather the floors below were falling at the same time.

the question should be - when they fell, why did they fall so fast?  there was no resistance which means the place was bombed.

watch the documentary Loose Change !  it should be on youtube

Answer 2

The heat from the burning jet fuel caused a weaking of the support structure and when compromised 1 floor collapsed to the next, building could not support additional load at that structure point.

Answer 3

It took time for the heat to weaken the supports of the tower.  

Read this, from an engineering school in Australia.  Fascinating!

http://www.civil.usyd.edu.au/wtc.shtml

Answer 4

It wasn't slow it was fast I don't believe anyone expected that to happen.I know I didn't.I am still amazed.I have read so much about it and no I don't believe it was conspiracy it was faulty building and an event that could never have been imagined.

Answer 5

They were very well built, able to withstand even a plane crashing on them.

Unfortunately they were not designed to withstand hot burning jet fuel, which loosened and melted the iron frames supporting the structure.

Otherwise, they would not have crash by just the planes crashing onto them.

Answer 6

Are you kidding me?  You think they collapsed slow????

The thing was the way the jets hit and the enormous heat causing all that steel to simply melt was amazing.  Those who built those towers never in a million years would have thought they would have gone so fast.  There is a great book written well before the collapse about the building of those towers.  I'll look for the name, but it is an amazing read.

They collapsed in what?  Like an hour, hour and a half?  Pretty d**n fast for something of that magnitude to simply seem to crumble.

EDIT

Here is a link to the book, I read this a few months after 9/11, the book was written prior and it is fascinating

Answer 7

That day I will never forget.  I have researched and From what i can see there were bombs planted in both towers that caused them to come down.  They could have survived this initial attack.  I believe out nation was betrayed by certain unnamed people and they should be brought to justice