NOVA to Broadcast Episode Explaining WTC Collapse on April 30
Tonight, April 30, the Public Broadcasting System series NOVA will air a program called Why the Towers Fell, about the destruction of The World Trade Center. The program will air at 8:00am EDT on most PBS stations on the East Coast. Check the PBS TV schedule for more information.
There is a large amount of supporting information on-line for this program. Included on the program website are:
- explanation of the structural innovations that allowed the World Trade Center to be built;
- analysis from Thomas Eagar, an MIT materials engineering professor, of the probably reasons why the World Trade Center survived the initial impact, but ultimately collapsed;
- account of the survival story of Brian Clark from EuroBrokers who descended from the 84th Floor of 2 World Trade Center, rescuing a trapped Fuji Bank employee on the way down;
- description of the rescue and survival equipment that firefighters carried into the World Trade Center; and
- discussion of the physical properties of metal.