The Eiffel Tower Grows During Summers & Shrinks in Winters – Here’s Why
The claim “Paris’ Eiffel Tower grows as much as 6 inches in height each summer” appeared on social media.
The Eiffel Tower in Paris is the source of many online rumors, one of which claims the monument grows every summer and shrinks again in winter.
This notion has appeared in numerous posts on social media, including on Instagram, Facebook, Reddit and TikTok, some of which suggest the growth can measure as much as 6 inches.
@outtathisworld50 The Eiffel Tower grows 15 centimeters taller in the summer… #EiffelTower #FunFacts ? original sound – outtathisworld
The Eiffel Tower does grow and contract in the summer and winter, respectively, due to temperature fluctuations, according to its operators. However, the growth is only a few millimeters — not as much as 6 inches, as many social media posts claim. That incorrect number appears to be a misinterpretation of the distance the Eiffel Tower may curve in the summer, also due to changes in temperature.
Completed in 1889, the Eiffel Tower was constructed of more than 18,000 metallic parts to stand at a height of more than 1,000 feet.
According to the Eiffel Tower’s website, the tower is made of puddled iron from the Forges de Pompey near Nancy, France. Puddled iron is created by converting pig iron into wrought iron through oxidization and heat.
Due to its physical properties, puddled iron can expand and contract when exposed to different temperatures, according to the Eiffel Tower.
When temperatures rise, the Tower increases in size! This is a natural physical phenomenon called thermal expansion. Heat causes an increase in volume that makes the Eiffel Tower a few millimeters taller. This expansion also causes the Tower to tilt slightly away from the sun.
During the colder winter months, the metal contracts and loses a few millimeters.
(Toureiffel.paris)
An inch is just over 25 millimeters, so six inches, as many posts claimed, would be more than 152 millimeters. That is far more than “a few millimeters taller,” as the official website says.
The “six inches” claim appears to stem from this line on the Eiffel Tower website:
The sun only hits one of the 4 sides of the Tower creating an imbalance with the other 3 sides, that remain stable, thus causing the Eiffel Tower to lean. In this way, the sun’s movement over the course of a clear day can cause the top of the Tower to move in a more or less circular curve measuring approximately 15 centimeters in diameter.
Meaning, the sun’s heat can cause the Eiffel Tower to move in a circular curve with a diameter of up to 15 centimeters, or 5.9 inches. That does not equate to the tower growing taller by up to 6 inches, however.
In conclusion, the monument responds to seasonal temperatures, contracting a few millimeters when it’s cold and expanding when it’s warm.
