The distinctive shape of the Eiffel Tower is based on simple physics and is designed so that the maximum torque created by the wind is balanced by the torque due to the Tower’s weight. We use this idea to generate an equation for the shape of the Tower. The solution depends only on the width of the base and the maximum wind pressure. We parametrize the wind pressure and reproduce the shape of the Tower. We also discuss some of the Tower’s interesting history and characteristics.

1.
From an interview in the newspaper Le Temps (14 February 1887) in which Eiffel responded to the protest of the artists (quoted from the Tower’s excellent official Web site, www.tour-eiffel.fr).
2.
J. Harris, The Tallest Tower: Eiffel and the Belle Epoch (Regnery Gateway, Washington, 1975), p. 20.
3.
B. Lemoine, Gustave Eiffel (l’Imprimerie Grafos, S. A., Arte sobre Papel, Barcelona, 1986), p. 89.
4.
H. Loyrette, Gustave Eiffel (Rizzoli International, New York, 1985), p. 114.
5.
Gustave Eiffel, La Tour de Trois Cent Mètres (Société des Imprimeries Le Mercier, Paris, 1900) (quoted from the Tower’s official Web site).
6.
The “Eiffel Tower Equation” presented without solution at wwwusers.imaginet.fr/̃chouard/is essentially Eq. (1) without the correction for the zero wind torque at ground level.
7.
These oscillations are measured by a laser alignment system at the top of the Tower and displayed in real time to the visitors (from the Tower’s official Web site).
8.
Two excellent Web sites with information about the Eiffel Tower are www.atkielski.com and www.endex.com/gf/buildings/eiffel/.
This content is only available via PDF.
© 2002 American Association of Physics Teachers.
2002
American Association of Physics Teachers
AAPT members receive access to the American Journal of Physics and The Physics Teacher as a member benefit. To learn more about this member benefit and becoming an AAPT member, visit the Joining AAPT page.