Did you know? The Eiffel Tower grows taller during summer months
Not at all. Gustave Eiffel's original design took expansion and contraction into account. The tower's iron structure is flexible enough to handle these seasonal shifts without cracking or weakening.WHAT'S THE SCIENCE BEHIND IT?Thermal expansion isn't unique to the Eiffel Tower; it happens in bridges, railway tracks, and pipelines too. Engineers often include expansion joints or flexible designs so that structures can adapt safely to temperature changes.WHY IS THIS FACT SO COOL?Because it's a perfect example of science meeting architecture. The Eiffel Tower isn't just a piece of art—it's a giant demonstration of physics in real life.DID YOU KNOW?The Eiffel Tower was completed in 1889 as the entrance arch for the World's Fair.It stands 324 metres tall (including antennas) in normal conditions.The tower is repainted every 7 years to protect it from rust.In strong winds, it can sway up to 7 centimetres without damage.It attracts over 6 million visitors each year, making it one of the most visited paid monuments in the world.- Ends
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India Today
11-08-2025
- India Today
Did you know? The Eiffel Tower grows taller during summer months
We all know the Eiffel Tower is an iconic Paris landmark, but here's a little-known fact: it changes height with the seasons! Let's break it down in a Q&A style so you can impress your friends with this quirky piece of trivia. Yes! During the summer months, the Eiffel Tower can grow by as much as 15 centimetres (around 6 inches). While you can't spot the change just by looking, scientists and engineers can measure it MAKES IT GROW?The tower is built entirely from wrought iron. Like most metals, iron expands when it gets hot. In summer, the sun's heat makes the metal particles vibrate more, pushing them slightly apart—this is called thermal IT SHRINK AGAIN?Absolutely. In winter, the cooler temperatures cause the metal to contract. The Eiffel Tower then returns to its usual height or even becomes a little shorter than its base measurement during particularly cold THIS CHANGE DANGEROUS? Not at all. Gustave Eiffel's original design took expansion and contraction into account. The tower's iron structure is flexible enough to handle these seasonal shifts without cracking or THE SCIENCE BEHIND IT?Thermal expansion isn't unique to the Eiffel Tower; it happens in bridges, railway tracks, and pipelines too. Engineers often include expansion joints or flexible designs so that structures can adapt safely to temperature IS THIS FACT SO COOL?Because it's a perfect example of science meeting architecture. The Eiffel Tower isn't just a piece of art—it's a giant demonstration of physics in real YOU KNOW?The Eiffel Tower was completed in 1889 as the entrance arch for the World's stands 324 metres tall (including antennas) in normal tower is repainted every 7 years to protect it from strong winds, it can sway up to 7 centimetres without attracts over 6 million visitors each year, making it one of the most visited paid monuments in the world.- Ends
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First Post
07-08-2025
- First Post
Did you know that the Eiffel Tower gets bigger in the summer? Here's why
The Eiffel Tower, erected during the 1889 World's Fair, expands up to 15 cm in the summer due to thermal expansion of iron. This natural process can lead it to grow taller and lean away from the sun read more As temperatures rise during the summer months, the Eiffel Tower grows even taller than its original design. File image/AP The structure known today as the Eiffel Tower was originally dubbed the Tour de 300 mètres, the 300-metre tower. The name was proposed by engineers Maurice Koechlin and Émile Nougier to Gustave Eiffel, who oversaw the tower's construction. It hinted at the desire to build something extraordinary, a technological feat that would set a new height record. However, as temperatures rise during the summer months, the Eiffel Tower grows even taller than its original design. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD A lightweight iron structure The Eiffel Tower was erected at the 1889 World's Fair to commemorate the centenary of the French Revolution. Eiffel chose puddled iron for its construction, a material he knew well and had used in previous projects with good results. This ferrous material can withstand high levels of stress, which allowed for the construction of a large, very light tower that would be safe from horizontal wind forces. To give an idea of how light the tower is, its weight of 7,300 tonnes is close to the weight of the volume of air contained within it – around 6,300 tonnes. The Eiffel Tower was intended to be a prime observation point, as well as a base for radio broadcasting. The tower itself is a gigantic triangular lattice structure, much like the Garabit Viaduct (also designed by Eiffel's office) and the Forth Bridge in Scotland, both from the same period. All of these structures grow when the temperature of the material increases. However, unlike bridges, which behave in a more complex manner, the Eiffel Tower experiences mainly vertical growth and shrinkage due to changes in temperature. This phenomenon is known as thermal expansion. Materials that grow and shrink We know that most solids expand when the temperature rises and contract when it falls. This is because an increase in temperature causes greater agitation in the atoms, which leads to an increase in the average distance between them. Depending on the nature of the bond, different kinds of solids experience greater or lesser growth, which engineers have to record with great care. Ceramics and glasses, with stronger bonds, expand less than metals, which in turn expand less than polymers. The Eiffel Tower under construction. Wikimedia Commons So, how can we estimate the amount of movement in a solid? When the elements are straight – as is the case in most public works and architecture, where beams and bars predominate – the movement is proportional to three parameters: the length of the element, the change in its temperature, and the material's coefficient of expansion. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD A hair's breadth Many ceramic materials typically have expansion coefficients ranging from 0.5x10⁻⁶ to 1.5x10⁻⁶ (degree Celsius) ⁻¹, while metals range between 5x10⁻⁶ and 30x10⁻⁶ (degree Celsius)⁻¹, and polymers between 50x10⁻⁶ and 300x10⁻⁶ (degree Celsius)⁻¹. These (perhaps strange-looking) numbers indicate the growth of a standard-length unit when the temperature rises by one degree Celsius. The most expandable materials are polymers, which expand about ten times more than metals, and metals expand ten times more than ceramics. The puddled iron used in the Eiffel Tower, and its steel components, have a coefficient of around 12x10⁻⁶ (degree Celsius)⁻¹, meaning that a one-metre-long iron bar expands by 12x10⁻⁶ metres when the temperature rises by one degree. That is just a dozen microns, less than the thickness of a human hair. So does heat have any noticeable effect on buildings? Yes, if we take into account that there are two other parameters to consider: the length of the element and the temperature range where it is located. The length can be very great. The Eiffel Tower is 300 m high, but the Garabit Viaduct is 565m long, and the Forth Bridge is over 2.5km long. Today, there are many larger linear structures, and thermal expansion also affects the railway tracks that many bridges are built to carry. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Historical temperature ranges must also be analysed. Paris has been recording temperatures for more than two centuries, with winter minimums below -20 degrees Celsius and summer maximums of around 40 degrees Celsius. We should also take into account the effect of solar radiation – metals can reach much higher temperatures in direct sunlight, often exceeding 60 degrees Celsius or 70 degrees Celsius. Leaning away from the sun Now, let's do the maths. We'll estimate how much a simple 100-metre-long metal bar expands when the temperature fluctuates by 100 degrees Celsius – the approximate range experienced by the Eiffel Tower. The calculation is simple. If a one-metre bar expands by 0.000012 metres when the temperature rises by one degree, a 100-metre bar expands by 0.12 metres when the temperature rises by 100 degrees. And a 300-metre bar would expand three times as much: 0.36 metres. That is, 36 cm. This is a noticeable difference. The most expandable materials are polymers, which expand about ten times more than metals, and metals expand ten times more than ceramics. AP Clearly, a simple bar does not behave the same as a tower made of more than 18,000 pieces of riveted iron oriented in all directions. Furthermore, the sun always shines on one of its sides. This means one of its faces grows more than the others, causing a slight curve in the tower, as if it were leaning away from the sun. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Specialists have estimated that the Eiffel Tower actually grows between 12 and 15 centimetres when comparing its size on cold winter days with the hottest days of summer. This means that, in addition to being a landmark, a communications tower and a symbol of Paris itself, the Eiffel Tower is also, in effect, a giant thermometer. Federico de Isidro Gordejuela, Profesor adjunto de Construcciones Arquitectónicas, Universidad CEU San Pablo This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Time of India
10-06-2025
- Time of India
Who is Dr. G Madhavi Latha, the geotechnical genius behind India's Chenab Bridge
The Chenab Railway Bridge in Jammu and Kashmir , upon its complete construction, became the world's highest railway single-arch bridge. Inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 6, 2025, this architectural marvel stands 359 meters above the Chenab River, surpassing even the Eiffel Tower in height. Going across 1,315 meters, the bridge is an important component of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project, aiming to provide all-weather rail connectivity to the Kashmir Valley. While the bridge itself is a symbol of engineering excellence, the journey to its completion was paved with challenges. At the forefront of this endeavor was Dr. G Madhavi Latha, a distinguished professor at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru. Her expertise and dedication were important in overcoming the region's complex geological and environmental hurdles. Who is Dr. G Madhavi Latha? Dr. G Madhavi Latha is a renowned figure in the field of civil engineering, specialising in geotechnical and rock engineering. She completed her in Civil Engineering from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University in 1992, followed by an from NIT Warangal. In 2000, she earned her Ph.D. in Geotechnical Engineering from IIT Madras. Before joining IISc in 2004, she served as a faculty member at IIT Guwahati. At IISc, she became the first female faculty member in the Civil Engineering Department. The professor said on the IISc website, "Back then, there were no exclusive toilets for women in the department. I had to really fight to get a women's toilet in the geotechnical engineering building." Over the years, Dr. Latha has received numerous accolades, including the Best Woman Geotechnical Researcher award from the Indian Geotechnical Society in 2021 and recognition among the 'Top 75 Women in STEAM' in India in 2022. What was her role in the Chenab Railway Bridge Project? Dr. Latha's involvement in the Chenab Railway Bridge project spanned 17 years, during which she served as a geotechnical consultant. Her primary responsibility was to address the tough challenges posed by the region's rugged terrain and unpredictable geological conditions. The project's success hinged on innovative solutions to stabilise slopes, design strong foundations, and ensure the structural toughness of the bridge. A notable area of Dr. Latha's approach was the adoption of a 'design-as-you-go' method. This strategy allowed her team to respond dynamically to unforeseen geological anomalies, such as fractured rocks and hidden cavities. As she noted in her paper 'Design as You Go: The Case Study of Chenab Railway Bridge', "Construction of a civil engineering marvel like the Chenab bridge posed many challenges from planning to completion. A rigid design with fixed dimensions and pre-determined solutions would not have been feasible." Her team's efforts included the installation of rock anchors and the implementation of slope stabilisation techniques to withstand seismic activities and extreme weather conditions. These interventions were crucial in ensuring the bridge's resilience and longevity. IISc acknowledged Dr. Latha's contributions on X, stating, 'We are proud of Prof Madhavi Latha & her team's contribution to the Chenab Bridge inaugurated by Hon'ble PM Narendra Modi. The team worked on stability of slopes, design & construction of foundations, design of slope stabilisation systems, incl. rock anchors to withstand hazards.'
