Reply #22: Those really are lovely graphs

[LARED]

Unfortunately they are not an accurate model of the pancake theory. In fact it does not model the pancake theory at all. The pancake theory is based on the assumption that the floors are impacted from above with enough energy to cause that floor to pancake onto the next floor.

They producer of the lovely graph makes an assumption that each floor is only under the influence of gravity. That is, at each discrete floor (whether it is defined as one floor or ten floors) it starts as a free fall transfer of energy, not taking into account the energy transferred via the impact.

The conservation of momentum principle tells us that the momentum of object one (defined as a discrete floor) when striking another object (next discrete floor) will transfer energy to the second object. The total energy of both objects is now equal to the momentum of the first object.

http://www.glenbrook.k12.il.us/gbssci/phys/Class/momentum/u4l2b.html

So according to the graph the first discrete floor starts free fall and impacts the second discrete floor. The graph states the the second discrete floor is only under the influence of gravity or potential energy. This cannot be true because the momentum transfer from the first to the second must transfer kinetic energy creating a much higher initial velocity and far shorter fall time.

They really are nice graphs.