Question

The Eiffel Tower (Figure 13-29) is built of wrought iron approximately 300 m tall. Estimate how much its height changes between July (temperature of 21°C) and January (temperature of -2°C). Ignore the angles of the iron beams, and treat the tower as a vertical beam.

*Don't worry about Figure 13-29, it's just a picture of the Eiffel Tower and is unnecessary to solve the problem.

Answer 1

Here, the coefficient of thermal expansion of wrought iron = 12 * 10^-6 /degC

Thus, its height changes = coefficient * temp rise * length

                                        =   12 * 10^-6 * 23 * 300

                                      = 0.0828 m

                                      = 8.28 cm