Thursday, January 24, 2013

Eiffel Tower Facts

During the World's Fair in 1889, Contractor Gustave Eiffel introduced the Eiffel Tower. An engineer by training, Eiffel founded and developed a company specializing in metal structural work. He devoted the last thirty years of his life to his experimental research. His most popular achievement was the Eiffel Tower. Towering nearly 320 meters tall, and weighing 10,100 tons, the Eiffel tower stands both as a landmark, recognizable throughout the world as the icon of the city of Paris, and as a monumental example of materials' structure, properties and performance. The tower is composed of puddling iron, not steel as many of today's buildings. Total 7,000 metric tons of puddling iron, which were the precursor to construction steel, was used. Like most materials, the tower undergoes thermal expansion. Thermal expansion is when a material changes dimensions while it undergoes temperature changes. The tower expands and contracts 15 cm from the hottest to the coldest day.
 
  • Located on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France, the Eiffel Tower is one of the most well known structures in the world.
  • The Eiffel Tower was originally built as the entrance arch for the World's Fair in 1889.
  • It is named after Gustave Eiffel, whose company was in charge of the project.
  • The Eiffel Tower is 320 metres (1050 feet) in height and was the tallest man made structure in the world for 41 years before being surpassed by the Chrysler Building in New York.
  • The Eiffel Tower is made of iron and weighs around 10000 tonnes.
  • Around 50 tonnes of paint are added to the Eiffel Tower every 7 years to protect it from rust.
  • Despite its height, the Eiffel Tower was designed to be wind resistant, swaying only a few inches in the wind. It actually moves further when the iron on the sun facing side heats and expands, moving the top up to 7 inches (18 centimetres) away from the sun.
  • Temperature also alters the height of the Eiffel Tower by up to 6 inches (15 centimetres).
  • Millions of people climb the Eiffel Tower every year and it has had over 250 million visitors since its opening.
  • Visitors can climb up stairs to the first two levels or take a lift which also has access to the third and highest level.
  • Being so popular, the Eiffel Tower design has been recreated around the world, including the half scale replica at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel in Nevada, USA and the full scale Tokyo Tower in Japan.
  • Not everyone liked the Eiffel Tower when it was first built, with many criticizing its bold design.
  • The French name for the Eiffel Tower is La Tour Eiffel, it also has the nickname La dame de fer which means the iron lady.