The Eiffel Tower, that grand Parisian landmark,
growing a bit taller in the summer! It's true! This amazing fact has to do with
something called thermal expansion.
Think of everything around you being made of tiny building
blocks, like Legos. When it gets hot, these tiny building blocks in materials
like iron wiggle around more. Because they're moving more, they need more
space. This makes the whole thing, like the Eiffel Tower, grow a little bit
bigger. That's thermal expansion!
The Eiffel Tower is built mostly from iron, and iron, like
most things, expands when it's heated by the summer sun. This expansion can
make the Eiffel Tower grow up to 15 centimeters, which is about the same width
as your hand! That might not seem like much, but for such a tall structure,
it's a noticeable difference.
In the winter, when things cool down, the tiny building
blocks in the iron calm down and move less. This shrinks the Eiffel Tower back
to its normal height. So, the Eiffel Tower is constantly breathing, growing a
little in the summer and shrinking a little in the winter, all thanks to
thermal expansion!
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