Latest news with #Eiffel
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First Post
3 days ago
- Science
- 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.
News18
31-07-2025
- Entertainment
- News18
This Throwback Pic From Shaheer Sheikh's Greece Vacation Is Too Good to Miss
Shaheer Sheikh dropped a candid frame from his last year's trip to Santorini, Greece. Shaheer Sheikh recently dropped an unseen picture from one of his trips to Santorini, Greece, last year. The travel enthusiast at heart, who often delights his fans with sneak peeks from his trip, looked back on his last year's journey. He posted a happy frame of himself posing with the surreal setting over there. Shaheer Sheikh's Photo From Last Year's Trip To Santorini On his Instagram Stories, Shaheer Sheikh posted a cherished memory of himself from his trip to Santorini, Greece. The actor was seen dressed in a crochet sleeveless vest teamed with a pair of round-rimmed sunglasses, while posing with a breathtaking backdrop featuring blue waters. He was seen flexing his candid smile, trimmed hairstyle, and beard as he tagged the location of the place above the photo. He also mentioned the date of the frame in which it was captured— 30 July 2024. Shaheer Sheikh's Travel Diaries To The Hills One look at Shaheer Sheikh's profile and we get to see an array of travel inspirations. In one of his recent posts, the actor was seen collaborating with his travel buddies as they embarked on a journey to the hills. The pictures were seemingly taken on one of the skywalks, with three of the handsome men seen posing for the lens alongside a surreal landscape of Thailand. It featured meadows, a sea, small hills and much more. Alongside the photo, he wrote, 'Exploring wonders of nature with off-beat PARINDE .. link in bio. #Raw #real and #unfiltered #Brotherhood #travel #Krabi #Phuket #Thailand #Saurav #Rohit #Shaheer." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Off-beat Parinde (@offbeatparinde) Shaheer Sheikh's Trip To Paris Ahead of his Thailand trip, the Do Patti actor even embarked on a journey to Paris. Dropping two dapper frames of him alongside the Eiffel tower, he penned, 'Whatever u say, this city has its own charm.. #paris #shaheera #travel." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Shaheer Sheikh (@shaheernsheikh) Coming to his professional front, the actor was last seen as Dhruv Sood in the Kajol and Kriti Sanon starrer movie, Do Patti. Besides this, he is best known for his portrayal of Veer Mehra in Kya Mast Hai Life (2009–2010), Arjuna in Mahabharat (2013–2014), Devrath Dixit in Kuch Rang Pyar Ke Aise Bhi (2016–2017) and Abir Rajvansh in Yeh Rishtey Hain Pyaar Ke (2019–2020). First Published: Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Buzz Feed
05-07-2025
- Buzz Feed
20 Overhyped Travel Destinations
If you're sitting on your couch watching everyone post photos of their Vogue-worthy summer vacations on Instagram, you might be suffering a little FOMO. You're not alone! Eiffel tower in Paris Lucky for us, a post on the popular Ask Reddit page is here to help alleviate a bit of the sting. In it, user sidvatscse asked people to dish about the travel destination they hyped up "so much" but then, once they went, was a complete disappointment. I don't know if I agree with every opinion, but it's kinda curing my FOMO, so without further ado, here are some of the best answers! "Plymouth Rock. It's tiny and in a cage, lol." "Jamaica. The sexual harassment is off the charts. I'll never go back." "Dubai. It's a fake plastic paradise built on slavery." "Mt. Rushmore. It's much smaller than expected." "The Hollywood Walk of Fame. I went to LA for a trip, and I was shocked by how disgusting the Walk of Fame, the famous Chinese Theater, and that general area were! It didn't feel safe, and I was out of there quickly." "Cairo. I really love Egyptian history, so I was a huge fan of seeing the pyramids and the new Egyptian Museum, but man, that city is rough. I got harassed and catcalled a bit too much for my liking." "Paris. I love it now, but the first time I went as a kid, the smell of piss everywhere wasn't really giving me the expected 'city of love' vibes." "I loved Rome, but it was the single most crowded city I had ever visited." "The Taj Mahal was touristy and somewhat fatiguing. I found out I have only so much desire to see vast quantities of marble. Weird fact: The bathrooms were free to tourists but Indians had to pay." "Weird one, but Salem, Massachusetts. It's just a joke now, people marketing and profiting off the witch trials, but when you go it's like, here's an old house, it's old…they said witches lived here. There were no real witches, so in reality, it was just women who lived here. That's an old chair, that's an old "Florida. Hot, ugly, bugs, and humidity." "New Orleans. The food was amazing, but the condition the city was in just bummed me out. Roads and homes were in need of major repairs, and the smell of literal human shit while downtown was rough." "Oh, definitely Venice. Everyone talks about how magical it is…the canals, the history, the vibe. But when I got there, it was way more crowded than I expected, super touristy, and honestly kind of smelled in some parts. It felt like a postcard come to life, but with way too many people fighting for the same photo spot. Not the dreamy escape I'd imagined." "I love New York. I hyped it too much, though; it's definitely a great city, just not the same as the movies and how it was in my head. I still like the real New York, but was expecting more…" "Amalfi Coast. A sweaty bus ride (as the traffic is awful and you can't park anywhere) to be shoulder-to-shoulder with people all the time and eat a €12 lemon sorbet. And the tiny beaches are very meh." "Bali. The beach is not even great." "Barcelona." "The Alamo." "My definition of hell would be to be stuck in Las Vegas forever." "Didn't much care for San Francisco. Monterey stole my heart, though." What are your thoughts on these destinations? Are they overhyped to adequately-hyped? Share in the comments!
Observer
01-07-2025
- Climate
- Observer
Europe scorched: France closes schools, Italy reduces work
PARIS/MADRID: Italy banned outdoor work in some regions during the warmest hours, France shut schools and part of the Eiffel Tower and Spain confirmed its hottest June on record as a severe heatwave gripped Europe, triggering widespread health alerts. The risks of working outside in searing temperatures were highlighted as Spanish trade unions attributed the death of a construction worker near Bologna on Monday to the heat. In Barcelona, authorities were looking into whether the death of a street sweeper over the weekend was also heat-related. Turkey continued to battle wildfires which forced the temporary evacuation of around 50,000 people on Monday in areas surrounding the city of Izmir, the province of Manisa and Hatay in the southeast. Europe is the world's fastest-warming continent, heating up at twice the global average, according to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service, with extreme heatwaves starting earlier in the year and persisting for longer. "What is exceptional ... but not unprecedented is the time of year," said World Meteorological Organization spokesperson Clare Nullis, adding that extreme heat episodes were seen now "which normally we would see later on in the summer." Higher temperatures in the Mediterranean Sea tend to reinforce extreme temperatures over land areas, she said. The Mediterranean Sea hit a record 30 C off Spain, six degrees above the seasonal average, Spanish weather forecaster AEMET said, as a high pressure system trapped hot air above Europe, a phenomenon known as a heat dome. Spain recorded its hottest June last month, with an average temperature of 23.6 C, AEMET said. Indeed, for the continent, the month likely ranks among the five warmest Junes on record, Copernicus said. England experienced its hottest June since at least 1884, the Met Office said, citing provisional data. The Red Cross set up an air-conditioned "climate refuge" for residents in southern Malaga, said IFRC spokesperson Tommaso Della Longa, while in Germany, people hit the ski slopes to avoid heat in the cities. Extreme heat kills up to 480,000 people annually around the world, according to Swiss Re, which notes this exceeds the combined toll from floods, earthquakes and hurricanes. The heat was set to peak in France on Tuesday, reaching 40-41 C in some areas, weather forecaster Meteo France said. Nearly 1,900 schools were closed, up from around 200 on Monday. A Paris-Milan rail service was disrupted because of a mudslide on the French side of the Alps, with full service not expected to be fully restored until mid-July, French rail operator SNCF said. The top floor of the Eiffel Tower closed on Tuesday and Wednesday, disappointing scores of visitors. "I tried to get all organised before our departure and the result is nonsense," said Laia Pons, 42, a teacher from Barcelona who booked Eiffel tickets for her family three years ago. When temperatures rise, the puddled iron used to build the Eiffel Tower expands in size and tilts slightly, with no impact on its structural integrity, according to its website. Italy, meanwhile, issued heatwave red alerts for 17 cities, including Milan and Rome. In Sicily, a woman with a heart condition died while walking in the city of Bagheria, news agencies reported, possibly of heatstroke. - AFP
Straits Times
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
‘I see you, Eiffel you': Police car blares Titanic song while cruising flood-hit Parisian street
Two people, including a child, died in a violent storm that lashed France on June 25. PHOTO: AFP 'I see you, Eiffel you': Police car blares Titanic song while cruising flood-hit Parisian street A French policeman cruised along a flooded Parisian street on June 26 with, appropriately enough, Celine Dion's iconic song from the movie Titanic – My Heart Will Go On – on full blast. A clip on TikTok shows the police cruiser moving through a street in Paris in ankle-deep floodwaters playing My Heart Will Go On at full volume through its mounted bullhorns. And, no, it did not hit a rock. The video has been 'liked' close to 500,000 times on the TikTok page of social media trends aggregator Brut, and reposted by several news outlets. My Heart Will Go On is the song most associated with the 1997 movie Titanic, which grossed over US$2.2 billion (S$2.8 billion) worldwide. It plays in the pivotal scene when the two lead characters, played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, stood at the bow of the Titanic, with their arms outstretched and DiCaprio shouting: 'I'm the King of the World!' The real Titanic sank shortly after it hit an iceberg on April 14, 1912 in the North Atlantic Ocean . 'Clearly, the cops were channelling the doomed ship itself, slowly rolling through the Paris floodwaters like the Titanic in the North Atlantic… all to break the ice and lift spirits,' said the entertainment site TMZ. 'This wasn't some subtle moment either,' it added. 'That 'Titanic' tune was blaring loud and proud, sending a clear message: When life floods your streets, throw on Celine and keep on cruisin'.' Nearly all who saw the clip found it funny. 'It's nice to see the French still have a sense of humour,' said a Reddit user . 'Savage,' commented another Reddit user. 'So unserious, I love it,' said a TikTok user. There were the inevitable Titanic references. 'Come back, come back,' said one on TikTok, referring to a plea for rescue from the character played by Winslet in the closing minutes of the movie. 'Every night in my dreams, I see you, Eiffel you,' said a TikTok user . Another said: 'Did they yell out over the speaker: Helloooo! Is anyone alive out there??? Can anybody hear me????' There were the subtly sexy takes. 'Draw me like one of your French cops,' said one. And there was the near universal opinion that this was exactly the kind of humour France needed after a particularly harrowing day. 'That's the right mood to face that situation,' said a commenter on TikTok. Another said: 'I'm loving how unserious the world is now. This is heartwarming.' Two people, including a child, died in a violent storm that lashed France on June 25. The violent downpour injured 17 others, one seriously. In southern France, a falling tree killed a 12-year-old boy, while a man on a quad bike died after crashing into a tree that had been brought down by the storm. In Paris, the sky turned an eerie yellow hue as lightning flashed above the city and fierce winds sent Parisians rushing for cover. The storms followed a sweltering heatwave with temperatures passing 35 deg C. It brought gusts of wind exceeding 100kmh, which damaged property. Nearly 100,000 homes were still left without electricity on June 26, mainly in central France. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
