Most steel has other metals added to tune its properties, like strength, corrosion resistance, or ease of fabrication. Steel is just the element iron that has been processed to control the amount of carbon. Iron, out of the ground, melts at around 1510 degrees C (2750°F). Steel often melts at around 1370 degrees C (2500°F).
Addendum (8/26/2011): I answered this question many years ago and it has been referenced in many different web sites and reports. There has been one misrepresentation that has come from that. Many sites refer to the difference in the melting point of steel and the burning temperature of jet fuel as proof that the World Trade Center could not have fallen from the aircraft fires. What those authors fail to note is that while steel melts at around 1,370°C (2500°F) it begins to lose its strength at a much lower temperature. The steel structure of the World Trade Center would not have to melt in order for the buildings to lose their structural integrity. Steel can be soft at 538°C (1,000°F) well below the burning temperature of jet fuel.
Commercial jet fuel is a pale yellow liquid with a petroleum odor. It has an auto-ignition temperature of 410°F (210°C). Its explosive limits are from 0.6 to 4.7 percent by volume in air. Coupled with its flash point, this means that at 100°F there is enough vapor in the air to reach the lower explosive limit so that even if an ignition source is not present and the fuel reaches a temperature of 410°F (and this is considerably below all common ignition sources), an explosion will occur.
“The heat of the fire—estimated by FEMA at 1,700 degrees—would make identification difficult because it consumed smaller body parts,” said Dr. Steven Symes, a professor of forensic pathology at the University of Tennessee.—“NY Shifts from Rescue to Recovery,” Richard Pyle, AP writer with contribution from AP reporter Diego Ibarguen, Sept. 17, 2001
Hmmmmm.... and most of that building was steel, glass and concrete and contained very little flammable materials, other than maybe paper and wooden desks.
Yup and even with the shitty 2001 cameras you can see glowing liquid caused by the thermite (or other high explosives) squirting out of the windows as it pancakes at freefall speed - perfectly in its own footprint.
Interesting, there were two guns that were covered in melted concrete.
https://bagofconcrete.com/what-is-the-melting-point-of-concrete/ says the temperature to do that is 1500-1,650 degrees Celsius. That is a very interesting data point, don't you think?
And this site says: https://education.jlab.org/qa/meltingpoint_01.html
And this: https://www.fireengineering.com/firefighting/wtc-9-11-jet-fuel/ says jet fuel, (ofc if you see the photos of the big fireball, most of it blew up outside of the building on impact and very little was left) says:
Hmmmmm.... and most of that building was steel, glass and concrete and contained very little flammable materials, other than maybe paper and wooden desks.
So how did we get to 1700 degrees again?
Hmmmmmm....
Yup and even with the shitty 2001 cameras you can see glowing liquid caused by the thermite (or other high explosives) squirting out of the windows as it pancakes at freefall speed - perfectly in its own footprint.