reply to post by ashamedamerican
You said "Research how thermate is employed rather than traditional demolition methods and you will get your answer."
Being so dismissive, you should be Ashamed not even knowing how Thermite is spelled, much less its limitations. Thermite is a favorite fall-back
position of the ignorant when the laser death rays are debunked. Militarily, Thermite is usually in 50 pound charges with a fuse igniter. They are
usually just used as destruction charges in sensitive areas. Place one on top of what you want destroyed and ignite it. When one goes off, all that
happens is a kind of a woosh as the aluminum reduces the iron oxide to molten iron. Nearby things get hot and in a small closed room, you would burn,
but there is not any bang; it's the flowing molten metal that does the destruction, not radiant heat. Note the word "flowing." Gravity is important
because the hot metal flows downward. Cutting vertical columns presents a bit of a problem because you have to make enough and keep it from wandering
away while it does it's work. This is really the hard way to cut verticals. Another thing you have to think about is the insulation around the
columns, such as concrete. This makes it more difficult to contact the molten iron with the steel you want to melt before it cools and solidifies. The
amount of thermite necessary depends on the thermal mass of the cross-section of column you want to melt by the height of the melt. Say you have a ton
or so of thermite [40-50 satchels] in place around each main column have built coffer-dams around them to keep the molten metal in place. Now you need
longer fuses or electric igniters to set these off so your crew can leave the building. Assume that you have arranged in advance for such and can set
them off at will. Now you have a problem with timing. Not timing the ignition but timing the drop. If the columns, charges, and coffer dams are not
identical, heat flows will vary and it will not drop simultaneously. This is one reason why buildings are not demoed with thermite; there is no
control on heat flow and melt rates.
Now that you know a lot more than you did before, I will paraphrase your advice to me and advise you: "Find out how to spell Thermite. Learn
something about how it is employed and you find that your arguments are not at all convincing to anyone who does know about it."



