Niels Harrit

Danish chemistry professor who co-authored a 2009 peer-reviewed paper claiming to have found nano-thermite in World Trade Center dust samples, igniting one of the most contentious scientific debates in the 9/11 investigation.

Field	Details
Full Name	Niels H. Harrit
Role	Engineer / Architect / Scientist
Platform	Academic publication, media appearances, public lectures, Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth
Notable Works	"Active Thermitic Material Discovered in Dust from the 9/11 World Trade Center Catastrophe" (2009, The Open Chemical Physics Journal); extensive media appearances; Danish libel lawsuit

Their 9/11 Claims or Findings

Niels Harrit served as an associate professor of chemistry at the University of Copenhagen for over 37 years, specializing in nano-chemistry. In April 2009, Harrit and eight co-authors published a paper in The Open Chemical Physics Journal titled "Active Thermitic Material Discovered in Dust from the 9/11 World Trade Center Catastrophe."

The paper examined four independently collected samples of dust from the World Trade Center collapse. The researchers reported finding distinctive red/gray chips present in all four samples. Through chemical and physical analysis -- including differential scanning calorimetry, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy, and other methods -- the authors concluded that these chips displayed characteristics consistent with nano-thermite (also called super-thermite), a highly engineered energetic material.

Specifically, the paper claimed:

The red layer of the chips contained intimate mixtures of iron oxide and aluminum in nanometer-scale particles, consistent with known nano-thermite formulations
When ignited, the chips produced iron-rich microspheres, a signature product of thermitic reactions
The energy release and ignition temperature of the chips were consistent with known thermitic materials
The materials could not be explained as naturally occurring or as common building materials

Harrit has stated that the presence of nano-thermite in the WTC dust constitutes physical evidence that explosives were used in the destruction of the World Trade Center buildings, supporting the controlled demolition hypothesis. He has made over 300 media appearances internationally discussing these findings.

Key Quotes

"We have discovered distinctive red/gray chips in all the samples we have studied of the dust produced by the destruction of the World Trade Center. The red portion of these chips is found to be an unreacted thermitic material and target chemical recipe known as nano-thermite." -- Niels Harrit et al., "Active Thermitic Material Discovered in Dust from the 9/11 World Trade Center Catastrophe," 2009

"This is not something you can accidentally produce. This is a very high-tech material that requires advanced laboratory conditions to manufacture." -- Niels Harrit, interview with Foreign Policy Journal, March 2011

"What we found is not consistent with office fires, airplane impacts, or building collapses. It is consistent with nano-thermite, and only with nano-thermite." -- Niels Harrit, public lectures

Key Arguments & Evidence They Cite

Four independent dust samples: The paper examined WTC dust collected from four separate locations by four different individuals, reducing the possibility of contamination or tampering. All four contained the red/gray chips
Chemical composition: X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy revealed the red layers contained aluminum, iron, oxygen, and silicon in proportions consistent with nano-thermite formulations, not with common materials like paint or rust
Ignition behavior: Differential scanning calorimetry showed the chips ignited at approximately 430 degrees Celsius, producing a dramatic energy release consistent with thermitic reactions
Iron-rich microspheres: After ignition, the chips produced iron-rich microspheres -- a known byproduct of thermitic reactions where iron oxide is reduced to molten iron by aluminum
Nano-scale structure: Electron microscopy revealed the aluminum and iron oxide particles were mixed at the nanometer scale, a hallmark of engineered nano-thermite that would not occur naturally
Peer review: The paper was published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal, giving it a level of formal academic credibility
Convergence with other evidence: The nano-thermite findings align with reports of molten metal in the WTC rubble pile, the presence of iron microspheres in WTC dust documented by the USGS and RJ Lee Group, and eyewitness reports of explosions

Where They've Said It

"Active Thermitic Material Discovered in Dust from the 9/11 World Trade Center Catastrophe," The Open Chemical Physics Journal, Vol. 2, pp. 7-31, April 2009
Interview with Foreign Policy Journal, March 7, 2011
Over 300 reported media appearances internationally, including television interviews in Denmark and elsewhere
Public lectures at universities and conferences
Testimony in Danish High Court during libel proceedings, March 2015
Presentations with Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth

The Counterargument

Editor resignation: Marie-Paule Pileni, the editor-in-chief of The Open Chemical Physics Journal, resigned after the paper's publication, stating it was published without her knowledge or approval. She said: "I cannot accept that this topic is published in my journal. The article has nothing to do with physical chemistry or chemical physics, and I could well believe that there is a political viewpoint behind its publication." She also characterized the journal as "a bad journal"
Journal quality concerns: The Open Chemical Physics Journal does not appear on major lists of international scientific journals, raising questions about the rigor of its peer review process. It is an open-access journal published by Bentham Open, which has faced criticism for editorial standards
Paint chip hypothesis: Critics, including chemist James Millette, have argued that the red/gray chips are consistent with primer paint (specifically LaClede Standard primer) used on WTC steel. Millette conducted his own analysis of WTC dust and reported finding red/gray chips that he identified as paint, though his study was not published in a peer-reviewed journal
No independent replication: No independent research group has published a peer-reviewed paper replicating or confirming the nano-thermite findings
NIST position: The National Institute of Standards and Technology stated it "found no corroborating evidence for alternative hypotheses suggesting that the WTC towers were brought down by controlled demolition using explosives planted prior to Sept. 11, 2001." NIST did not test for thermitic residues
Libel case outcome: In December 2012, Danish journalist Soren Villemoes of the newspaper Weekendavisen called Harrit a "crackpot." Harrit sued for libel. The Copenhagen City Court ruled against Harrit on August 16, 2013. He appealed to the Eastern High Court, which heard the case in March 2015 and upheld the lower court's ruling, finding that "crackpot" was not libelous in context
Logistical objections: Critics argue that planting nano-thermite throughout the WTC would have required extensive covert access to the buildings and would have been extraordinarily difficult to accomplish without detection

Richard Gage -- Founder of Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth, the primary professional organization advocating for a new investigation based on physical evidence including Harrit's nano-thermite findings
David Ray Griffin -- Author and theologian who has extensively cited the nano-thermite paper in his books as one of the strongest pieces of physical evidence supporting controlled demolition

Sources

This information was compiled by Claude AI research.

Their 9/11 Claims or Findings​

Key Quotes​

Key Arguments & Evidence They Cite​

Where They've Said It​

The Counterargument​

Related Perspectives​

Other Coverage Worth Reading​

Sources​