BEING one of the most iconic monuments in the world, The Eiffel Tower is a must-see for those lucky enough to set foot in Paris, France.
Often associated with luxury, class and love, it is an understatement that this enchanting structure is world-famous.
Despite most of the earth's population recognising the monument, is it true that the tower has no fixed height?
Verdict:
TRUE
Natively known as Tour Eiffel, it is mostly made of iron. Its average height (yes, average) is about 324m.
Note that average was used because of inconsistency throughout the year.
In summer, the three-floored tower's height increases by roughly 17cm due to thermal expansion.
As iron heats up, the kinetic energy of its particles increases. This causes them to vibrate faster, occupying more space, and making the iron expand.
We see this happening daily to smaller structures such as train tracks and house gates.
Similarly, this phenomenon still occurs in bigger structures - like the Eiffel Tower, originally called "The 300-meter Tower".
This expansion also causes the monument to tilt slightly away from the sun due to the sun only hitting one of the four sides of the tower creating an imbalance with the other three sides.
Despite this, the tower which took 22 months to complete, remains stable while leaning to one side.
Furthermore, the sun’s movement over a clear day can cause it to move in a circular curve.
Conversely, when winter arrives, the structure contracts and the Eiffel Tower will then lose about 16cm depending on the temperature.
On top of this, over its 131-year history, the Eiffel Tower has gotten taller due to antennas which were added at the summit, in 1957, 2000 and 2022.
It might not sound like much today, but when it was introduced on March 31, 1889, it was known as the world's tallest tower, and remained so for a good 42 years!
