Latest news with #GustaveEiffel
India Today
6 days ago
- Science
- 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
The Independent
08-08-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Eiffel Tower fan builds scale replica in his back garden
A grandfather and grandson team have built a 1/10 scale replica of the Eiffel Tower in their back garden. Jean-Claude Fassler, 77, has been working with Kilian Antenat, 22, for eight years to recreate Gustave Eiffel's original 1889 vision for the iconic Paris structure in its original red colour. Fassler, a retired mechanic, said that he's been a fan of Eiffel 'for a very long time' and that when the replica is complete, he will sleep on the first floor for one night. 'I'll be able to say I've made it and that I have an apartment in the Eiffel Tower,' he said. Once the 98.5ft structure is completed later this month, Fassler plans to sell the replica to recoup the costs.
The Independent
07-08-2025
- Science
- The Independent
The Eiffel Tower gets taller every summer. Here's how
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. 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. 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. A hair's breadth Many ceramic materials typically have expansion coefficients ranging from 0.5x10⁻⁶ to 1.5x10⁻⁶ (°C) ⁻¹, while metals range between 5x10⁻⁶ and 30x10⁻⁶ (°C)⁻¹, and polymers between 50x10⁻⁶ and 300x10⁻⁶ (°C)⁻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 (°C)⁻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 300m 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. Historical temperature ranges must also be analysed. Paris has been recording temperatures for more than two centuries, with winter minimums below -20⁰C and summer maximums of around 40⁰C. We should also take into account the effect of solar radiation – metals can reach much higher temperatures in direct sunlight, often exceeding 60⁰C or 70⁰C. 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 100⁰C – 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. 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. 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.
BBC News
01-08-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
'Her meaning contains multitudes': Why the Statue of Liberty is at the heart of US culture wars
Controversy over an Amy Sherald painting of the Statue of Liberty reveals divides over US national symbols, joining debates that have centred on the statue since it was first unveiled. So fixed is our focus on the radiant points of her spiky crown and the upward thrust of her flickering lamp, it is easy to miss altogether the shackles of human enslavement that Lady Liberty – who is at the centre of a fresh skirmish in the US's accelerating culture wars – is busy trampling underfoot. Her meaning contains multitudes. It pulls her in many directions. Messily inspired, as all great art is, by a mixture of sources – from the Roman goddess Libertas, to the Greek sun god Helios, to the multifaceted Egyptian goddess Isis (who fascinated the sculpture's creator, the French artist Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi) – the Statue of Liberty seems hardwired for debate. She boldly embodies the one straightforward truth about cultural symbols: their truths are never straightforward. From the moment the statue was unveiled in October 1886, it provoked criticism from both ends of the political spectrum The current controversy over the essence of Bartholdi's 46m (151ft)-tall copper sculpture, ingeniously engineered by Gustave Eiffel and formally presented to the United States as a gift from France on 4 July 1884, is a striking painting by African American contemporary artist Amy Sherald that reimagines the Statue of Liberty as a black transgender woman. Earlier this month, Sherald, best known until now for her 2018 official portrait of First Lady Michelle Obama, was advised that her work, Trans Forming Liberty, might upset US President Donald Trump – who in January issued an Executive Order recognising two sexes only – male and female – and therefore should not be included in her upcoming exhibition at the federally funded Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC. Rather than contemplate removing the work, Sherald decided to cancel the show altogether, citing"a culture of censorship". The contested work is currently on display at New York's Whitney Museum as part of Sherald's touring exhibition American Sublime and is characteristic of the artist's instinct to dislocate her subjects and unsettle expectations. Sherald often achieves this, as she does both in her portrait of Obama and in Trans Forming Liberty, by translating her subjects' complexions into an uncanny greyscale (or "grisaille"), nudging viewers to look past skin colour and reassess their assumptions about what constitutes race. The model for Sherald's work, Arewà Basit, a black artist who identifies as non-binary trans-femme, is portrayed against a flat, periwinkle background, hand on hips, wearing a vibrant ultramarine gown that recalls the otherworldly resplendence of Renaissance Madonnas, and neon fuschia hair. The torch she lifts has been supplanted by a clutch of humble Gerbera daisies, traditionally a symbol of joy and hope – a subtle subversion that faintly calls to mind the disarming weapon wielded by Banksy's Flower Thrower, who too is powerful in his powerlessness. Of the intended potency of her own work, Sherald has explained that her painting "exists to hold space for someone whose humanity has been politicised and disregarded" – a sentiment that arguably rhymes with the hospitable spirit of the statue itself, which is famously affixed with a sonnet by Emma Lazarus, summoning "homeless, tempest-tossed" "masses yearning to breathe free". A polarising symbol That synchronicity, however, may be both the painting's profoundest allure and deepest liability. From the moment the statue was unveiled in October 1886, it provoked criticism from both ends of the political spectrum. Suffragettes insisted the sculpture's depiction of a woman embodying liberty was too ironic to be taken seriously when women themselves were denied the right to vote. At the same time, conservatives objected to any incitement of migrants to flock to the US – those "huddled masses" the sculpture silently summons. By recasting Lady Liberty as a totem of unfulfilled promise, Sherald's work aims to send a tremor down the fault-line of the American conscience. While neither Trump nor anyone in his administration has, as yet, publicly condemned Sherald's painting or its representation of a black transgender woman, the organisers of her scheduled exhibition, which was due to open on 19 September, had reason to fear imminent repercussions to its funding should the work go on display. In March, barely two months into his second term, Trump signed an Executive Order entitled "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History", which is aimed at curtailing financial support to museums and projects that, in its words, "degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race, or promote programs or ideologies inconsistent with Federal law and policy". Stating that the Smithsonian had "come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology", Trump instructed US Vice-President JD Vance to enforce his order. It was only a matter of time before Sherald's recasting of Lady Liberty as black and transgender would catch Vance's eye. More like this: • The real meaning of Van Gogh's Sunflowers • Who was the real Andy Warhol? • The naked billboard that shocked the establishment It was after meeting with Vance, who according to an anonymous source quoted by Fox News expressed concerns about the "woke" nature of Sherald's work, that organisers of Sherald's show began having second thoughts about including the painting in the exhibition – triggering the artist's subsequent withdrawal from the project altogether. In recent months, enforcement of Trump's Executive Order has intensified clashes over what kind of story the country's symbols tell – or should be permitted to tell. The exclusion of Sherald's painting from public view has likely only amplified its exposure and impact. What's more visible than something hidden? Among the notable flashpoints is Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, home to the Liberty Bell. The White House has given the institution until the end of July 2025 to apply to all of its programmes a review to ensure that the narratives it projects "remind Americans of [the nation's] extraordinary heritage, consistent progress toward becoming a more perfect Union, and unmatched record of advancing liberty, prosperity". Particular issue has reportedly been taken with the Park's inclusion in its displays of information relating to the ownership of slaves by America's first President, George Washington, to the brutality that slaves suffered, and to the treatment of Native Americans. Whatever is ultimately decided about the texture and tone of the exhibits at the Independence National Historical Park and of those at other federal museums and institutions now undertaking reviews, the resonance of cultural symbolism is difficult to control no matter how strenuously a government may try. Some bells can't be unrung. Cracks remain. The exclusion of Sherald's painting from public view has likely only amplified its exposure and impact. What's more visible than something hidden? As for Lady Liberty herself, Eiffel's proleptic reliance when constructing the statue on a pliable wrought-iron pylon framework that functions like a network of springs, enabling the sculpture's thin skin to flex and clench without breaking, has ensured the sculpture's survival against the unpredictable buffets of time. Will the elastic meaning of liberty itself prove as resilient? Amy Sherald's exhibition American Sublime is at the Whitney Museum in New York City until 10 August. -- If you liked this story, sign up for The Essential List newsletter – a handpicked selection of features, videos and can't-miss news, delivered to your inbox twice a week. For more Culture stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
The Age
16-05-2025
- The Age
Portugal's second-largest city is packed with highlights
Porto's answer to the croque monsieur is the francesinha ('little French woman'), which despite its name is neither little nor French. A hulking great shed of a sandwich, it's a cheese-covered doorstop of pork, sausage, steak and bacon that's doused in a moat of spicy tomato sauce. Often served on a bed of chips and crowned with a fried egg, it's something best shared with a friend or, ideally, five. You'll find them all over the city but Cafe Santiago is a perennial favourite. See The church Don't be put off by its dowdy Gothic exterior, venture inside the Monument Church of St Francis and you'll discover some of the country's finest baroque altarpieces – extraordinarily ornate gold-smothered creations bursting with cherubs, angels and saints. Equally arresting is the Tree of Jesse, an intricate wooden carving of Jesus' family tree by Filipe da Silva and Antonio Gomes. Don't leave without visiting the church's eerie catacombs, a hushed subterranean space where Franciscan monks and Porto's noble families were once buried. The bridge Designed by Teofilo Seyrig, a disciple of Gustave Eiffel, the spectacular Dom Luis I Bridge connects Porto with Vila Nova de Gaia on the opposing bank of the Douro River. The 172-metre-span double-decker structure is a symphony in steel, arching gracefully between the two cities to provide a convenient crossing point for vehicles, pedestrians and the metro. The views from the top deck are sensational (although height phobics may struggle with the 45-metre drop) and from the lower span you'll often see daring youngsters jumping into the river below. The cruise If you weren't lucky enough to sail into Porto, you can still get a taste of life on the Douro with a Six Bridges cruise. This popular excursion is offered by several companies on both sides of the river, using vessels inspired by the traditional wooden rabelo boats once used to transport port wine. During the narrated 50-minute trip you'll see Porto's six famous spans, from Gustave Eiffel's elegant 1877 Maria Pia Bridge to the sleek, concrete Infante Dom Henrique Bridge, named after Portuguese explorer Prince Henry the Navigator. Expect to pay about €18 ($32). The decoration It's hard to miss Porto's defining decorative flourish – the blue and white glazed ceramic tiles known as azulejos that adorn everything from stations and churches to benches and homes. Made fashionable in the 16th century by Portugal's King Manuel I, the tiles are both practical (they help to keep buildings cool) and artistic, often depicting important historic events and traditions. Standout examples include the Gothic cloisters in Porto Cathedral, the ravishing, 20,000-tile interior of Sao Bento railway station and the conversation-stopping facade of the Chapel of Souls. The excursion For some head-clearing respite from Porto's tourist-clogged old town, head to Foz, a breezy seaside resort located at the mouth of the Douro where it meets the Atlantic. There you'll find sandy beaches, oceanfront restaurants and attractive, palm-flanked avenues perfect for gelato-fuelled promenades. While there are notable attractions, including the imposing 16th-century Sao Joao Baptista da Foz fort and the 17-metre-high Felgueiras lighthouse, perhaps the most memorable aspect is the bone-jangling 20-minute journey there on the vintage No.1 tram. The port lodge It's basically illegal to visit Porto and not taste its most famous export, the fortified wine that put the city on the map. All the port lodges are located in Vila Nova de Gaia and most offer a similar tour and tasting package. If you only have time for one, make it Cockburns; it not only has the largest cellar, a vast, barrel-filled warehouse containing 9 million litres of port, it's also the only lodge where you can still see coopers at work. A 90-minute tour and tasting costs €26 ($46). See One more thing The wallet-friendly Porto Card provides discounted access to many of the city's top attractions, unlimited use of public transport and deals at local restaurants. From €13 ($23). See
